enchantingcastles

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OOIDONK

A certain “Nikolaas van Hoendunc” a Lord of Nevele was the first owner of this castle. Around 1384, four towers were built and the north and east towers were connected by curtain walls. A drawbridge was the only entrance to the stronghold. Through marriages the castle came in the hands of the family “Montmorency”. The castle was involved in several wars in the 15th and 16th centuries. The castle was destroyed in 1491 and 1579 by fire. In a siege of 1579, left devastated, the “Montmorency” family. “Phillipe van Montmorency” was captured and taken to Brussels where he was beheaded.
“Marten della Faille”, a wealthy merchant, bought the castle in 1592. The old stronghold was pulled down and on the foundations the four towers were rebuilt and a new tower was added in the centre of the front giving the castle the majestic look it still has now. The castle was rebuilt in the Flemish renaissance style also with some Spanish influences. The castle became more residential in the 17th and 18th century. Through marriage the castle went to the family “du Bois de Vroylande”. In 1864 the ancestors of the current owner Count "t’ Kint de Roodenbeke” bought the castle and gave the French architect “Clément Parent” the assignment to modernise the castle without harming the renaissance look. “Parent” did thoroughly an outstanding job. Inside the castle you can admire the rich decorations, paintings, furniture, silverware, tapestry, and several collections.
The castle is open from Easter until the middle of September on Sundays and holidays. In July and August it is also open on Saturdays always from 2pm until 5.30pm. I visited the castle July 2001 and had to pay 200bef to get in. The gardens are open the whole year. To visit the gardens only you have to pay 30bef.
Take the E40 Brussels – Oostende and take the exit Deinze and follow the signs.

LAARNE

The feudal castle of Laarne is built on swampland, which was strategically important to defend the castle because the swamps made it difficult for the aggressors to get close to the castle. It was “Dirk van Massemen” who started to build the castle around 1200. The current curtain walls and towers date back to the 14th century. The castle was always private property and was owned by Lords, such as: “van Zottegem”, “van Rassegem”, “de Vos”, “van der Moere” and “van de Woestyne”. The castle played an important strategically role. Around 1500 the castle was so damaged by several sieges that there was need for restorations. The family “van Vlisteren” become owner of the castle in the 17th century and they make important alterations. The works start in 1672. They move the entrance from the West to East and enlarged the main building to twice its original size. “Maria-Theresa van Vilsteren” married Count ”van Ribacourt” in 1745. One of his decedents gave the castle in 1952 to the Royal society of Historical Buildings of Belgium. Chairman “Joseph de Ghellinck d’Elseghem” started immediately with the restoration of the castle that stood empty for a long time. Now the castle is a beautiful example of a 12th century castle. It is located in the midst of fields and orchards.
The castle is certainly worth a visit. I visited July 2001 and had to pay 200bef. You can walk around freely through the many rooms and halls. The castle is beautifully furnished. The main attraction is the impressive silverware collection of “Claude d’Allemagne”.
The castle is open to the public from Easter until June 30 and from September 1st until October 30, every Sunday from 2pm until 5.30pm. From July 1st until August 31 every day except for Monday and Friday from 2pm until 5.30pm. Take the E40 from Brussels to Oostende, take exit Laarne and follow the signs.
The bottom five pics are scanned from postcards

MARNIX DE SAINTE ALDEGONDE

Since 1780 the castle has been in the hands of the Marnix family. But the history of this neo gothic castle goes back to the 9th and 10th century when there was a medieval stronghold on this spot. This castle was built on the banks of the river Schelde. The route of the river changed around 1240. As the result of this the castle lost its defending purpose.
The interior of the castle is richly decorated with paintings, furniture, lace, Chinese porcelain and handwritten books. The old outhouse is a coach museum. Also, there is a permanent exhibition about the life of “Philips de Marnix” (1538-1598) Lord Van Sainte Alegonde, the most famous name of the Marnix dynasty.
The castle has been available for visiting since 1988. "John de Marnix de Sainte Aldegonde", the 14th Count, was the initiator of this. The castle is only open to groups during the year and by appointment only. There are a few weekends in the year that you can visit the castle individually without the necesity of having an appointment. The last two Sundays of August plus August 15th and the first two Sundays of September between 1.30pm and 4pm are when the castle is open for individual visits. The entrance fee is 200bef. The guided visit lasts about 90 minutes. The castle is situated in the city of Bornem. Take the A12 Brussels – Antwerp, exit Temse (road N16) and then Exit Bornem. The castle is also visible from the back. To get there you take the road to Temse, go to the left just before the bridge. Then follow the road called Binnendijkstraat where you will see this impressive place on your left side after a few minutes driving.
I visited the castle August 15th, 2001. I had to pay 230bef to get in. The tour lasted about 90 minutes and was very interesting.
The seven pics on the bottom are scanned from postcards.

POEKE

A powerful fortress stood on this spot defending the city of Gent. It was here that the Good Knight “Jacques de Lalaing” fell during the siege by “Filips de Goede” in 1453.
From this original hexagonal castle only four towers remain which are incorporated in the new castle. Viscount of Nieuwpoort “Charles – Florent de Preudhomme d’Hailly”, who also had the title of Baron of Poeke, built the current castle between 1750 and 1761. His spouse “Marie – Anne ‘d Alegambe” was at least as rich as her husband and the result is the colossal castle we can see now in Baroque style surrounded by water. In the 19th century the castle was remodelled in a South Flemish style, but still with a lot of influences from France.
The last noble family to live in the castle was the family “Pycke de Peteghem”. They bought the castle in 18th century and dominated the area until the last descendent of the dynasty Baroness “Ines Pycke de Peteghem” died in 1955. The castle is now property of the city of Aalter. The restorations of the inside are still going on. The outside already has got back its splendour. You can walk freely in the park surrounding the castle.
To get there you have to take the E40 Brussel – Oostende and take the Exit Aalter. Then go in the direction of Poeke and signs will lead you to the domain.

LAVAUX-SAINTE-ANNE

At the beginning of the 14th century the mighty family “Berlo” wanted to establish their power by building a castle. They found the perfect spot on a swampy plain along the slow flowing river Wimbe. In 1450 the keep was built. This impressive sturdy tower held up many attackers with its moat, loopholes and drawbridge. The keep forms together with the three other towers a castle that still looks unconquerable. Throughout time the castle came in the hands of the family “Den Bosch – Mompertingen” and the “Merode – Middelburgs”. Baron “de Rouveroit” bought the castle in 1630. He took down part of the curtain wall and he remodelled the façade of the inner courtyard into Italian baroque. The castle became an attractive country place. “Anne-Désirée de Rouveroit” married Prince “de Gavere” governor of Namen and the castle became disused.
The 19th century was a dark period for the castle. It came in the hands of several families. The families “Malacord”, “Fishbach”, Massange”, “van Volxem” and “Orban” had one thing in common, they did not look after the castle and it turned slowly into ruins.
The sky clears finally up for the castle in 1934. Baroness “Lemonnier” restores the castle completely and gives it back its breathtaking outlook. The castle holds now a museum.
I visited the castle in May 2001. The entrance fee is 200 bef. The castle that is constructed in grey stone looks very solid and impressive. It holds two different exhibitions. One part of the castle has still all the furniture in it and another part has a museum about hunting. You can walk freely inside the castle and there are many rooms to explore. It will take you an hour or two to explore everything.
Getting there is easy, (ok I got lost but that was only because of my own stupidity :)). Take the E411 Brussels – Namen. Take Exit 22a and follow the signs, which will lead you to the castle. Lavaux-Sainte-Anne is a must.
(left top picture scanned from a brochure)

BEERSEL

The castle of Beersel is one of the few well kept examples of a Middle Age fortified castle. It still looks the same as it did at the end of the 15th century.
The castle was built between 1300 and 1310 to protect Brussels. It was under siege and plundered by the Brusselaars and was partly rebuilt in 1489. The peaked roofs you see are from that restoration. The date 1617 which you can see on one of the towers dates from another restoration.
The castle with his moats, high and thick walls and towers was a stronghold and almost impossible to conquer. Also because the marsh that surrounded the castle on the east, south and west side. That's why the attackers always choose to attack the castle from the North where the castle was built against a higher part of land.
The castle was only really conquered and destroyed one time by the Brusselaars who rebelled against Emperor "Maximiliaan". When peace returned to the area the Brusselaars paid themselves for the restorations.
Like mentioned before the castle was built between 1300 and 1310 by "Godfried van Hellebeke" with the help of "Jan II, duke of Brabant". In 1402 a fire destroyed the roofs. Duchess "Johanna" donated a lot of the Zoniën forest to "Hendrik van Witthem" so he could use the trees to restore the woodwork of the castle.
After the death of "Maria van Bourgondië" and during the underage years of "Filips de Schone" the cities of the Netherlands rebel against "Maximilliaan van Oostenrijk" because they do not want to have him as regent. The Brusselaars attack the castle but the mighty walls resists against the canons and the Brusselaars stop their siege. They return however in April 1489 and bring the French artillery with them to help them. This was the mightiest artillery in Europe during that era. The siege was short because they were able to make a wide gap in a wall through which they conquered the castle. The defending garrison had to surrender. The soldiers were thrown in the dungeons and their leader "Willem van Ramilly", a Boergondisch captain, was hanged publicly in the market place in Brussels.
"Maximiliaan" was able to re-conquer Brussels. He orders the city to pay a big fine to "Hendrik van Witthem" so he could rebuilt the castle. Some chronicles say that the castle was destroyed completely others say that the castle was only partly destroyed. The latter ones seem to be right as you still can see now which parts survived the siege and which parts were re-built later.
The restoration was done between 1491 and 1508. On the first floor of the third tower you can still see the weapon shield of "Jan III van Witthem" which was put in during those restorations. The restorations were finished on June 30th, 1508. On that date "Jacob van Croy" bishop of Cambrai gave permission to open the chapel in the castle.
It is likely that the castle went through another restoration in 1617 as that year is anchored into the first tower.
The lineage "van Witthem" was owner of the castle until they were extinct
After that it became property of the family "De Arenbergs". They had many castles and they left Beersel to go live in a castle in Heverlee.
The monks of Zevenborre lived in the castle during the religious wars .
The castle was rented in 1745 to captain "Vellemans" for 200 guilders a year.
A cotton factory moved into the castle in 1818. They didn't maintain the castle and it started to get in bad shape. One day all roofs collapsed.
The castle had to wait until 1928 until somebody took care of it again. Lord "Pelgrims de Bigard", who was very concerned about the fate of many castles founded the alliance "Friends of the castle of Beersel". Count and Countess "Guillaume de Grunne" who were at that moment owners of the castle decided to donate the castle to that alliance.
They started to restore the castle immediately. "Pelgrims de Bigard", brother "Herman", who was a teacher at the Sint-Lucas school", and architect "Ignace Van den Hulst", who directed the restorations, restored the castle with historical precision. They kept everything that was still standing and they rebuilt everything that was destroyed.
visiting this castle is like going back in time to the Middle Ages. Once you walk through the gate you are back in a time were knights fought heroic battles and life was a hard and daily battle to survive.
You find the castle along the freeway Brussels - Paris (E19). Take exit number 19 and follow the signs. A visit will cost you 100bef.

GAASBEEK

We start our story in 1288 whith "Hendrik van Leuven", he played an important roll in the battle of Woeringen, and was one of the first owners of Gaasbeek. The lineage "van Leuven" were owners of the castle for about one hundred years. Another name that stands out is the one of "Sweder van Abcoude" for his conflict against Brussels. On March 26th 1388 the councilmen of Brussels were ambushed when they were on their way from Lennik to Brussels. "Swedor" invites the culprits into his castle. They were his bastard son "Willem van Cleef" and his baljuw "Melis Utenenghe". One of the councils dies of his injuries and this is the sign to send an army to the castle to besiege it. This short war is disastrous for the castle. After a five week siege the castle falls and is burned down. "Sweder" was able to escape and when he returns later he reconcile with the city of Brussels and they give back his belongings.
"Jacob van Abcoude" sells the castle to the "Horne" family. "Filips van Horne" seems to have been very important in the history of the castle as he rebuilt the castle between 1436 and 1488. Also the remodeling his descendant "Maarten van Horne" did between 1543 and 1559 were important for the castle.
"Maarten" did not only use his fortune to remodel the castle but he was also always in war and fought on the side of "Karel V". All these wars resulted in huge debts. They became so high that the castle was sold publicly. It was earl "Lamoraal van Egmond" who bought the castle in 1565 for 210.000 carolusguilders. "Lamoraal, 28th Lord of Egmond, Prince of Gavere, Knight of the Gulden Vlies, governor and captain-general of Flanders and Artesië" was one of the most important people of the Netherlands. His roll in the revolution against the Spanish king "Filips II" would cost him his life. The "Duke van Alva" on command of "Filips" arrested him. "Lamoraal" was decapitated June 5th, 1568 on the market in Brussels. All his property was confiscated. His wife "Sabine van Beieren" and her eleven children were forced to move to the abbey of Ter Kameren. She returns to the castle in 1574.
"Filips van Egmond" becomes owner of the castle in 1589. "Filips" dies in the war against "Hendrik IV of France" in 1590. His wife "Maria van Horne" inherits all his possessions.
Maria's niece sells the castle in 1615 to "Renaat van Renesse van Warfusée". He beautifies the garden and builds a chapel in the park. "Warfusée" is head of the finance. He takes part in an attempted coup with the help from foreign countries. The coup doesn't happen and "Warfusée" is banned and his properties confiscated. He manage to escape to Luik where he tries to kill major "la Ruell", but he gets killed himself by the people.
His children are able to stop the auction of their father properties and in 1650 "Alexander van Renesse", son of "Warfusée" becomes owner of the castle.
We are in 1695 when "Louis-Alexander Scockaert" buys the domain. "Scockaert" was an important diplomat. He signs in 1697 with the authority of the Spanish king the peace of van Rijswijk which ends a nine year long war.
The castle went through a rough time during the wars of "Lodewijk XIV". French troops burned down the 4 towers in 1691. During the siege of Brussels in 1695 the castle was again the scene of furious battles. It was damaged so much that they didn't even bother to rebuild certain parts.
"Alexander-Louis Scockaert" followed up his father and he married "Jeanne Volckaert". Who was family of "Pieter Paulus Rubens". Because of this bond important documents of this famous painter ended up in the archive of the castle.
"Brigitta-Jozeffa ", "Filips-Karel Thomas" and "Augustijn-Justus Scockaert" all die without offspring. Their sister "Henriette" was married with "Galeazzo Arconati Visconti". So in 1796 the castle becomes property of "Paul Arconati Visconti", who was for a period major of Brussels. The extravagant and modern Paul became at the end of his life a real hermit. His nephew "Guiseppe Arconati" inherits the property in 1821. He was involved in the Risorgimento, or the revolt of Lombardije against Austria. He was convicted to death but managed to escape to Belgium, where he entertains his fellow rebels who also managed to flee. The castle becomes because of "Guiseppe's" wife "Constanza Trotti" a center for artistic and scientific activities. This all comes to an end when their son "Carletto" dies. The "Arconati's" leave Gaasbeek. Their second son "Giammartino Arconati Visconti", the last of the "Visconti" lineage marries with "Marie Peyrat". "Giammartino" dies three years after the marriage without an heir. "Marie" inherits the enormous fortune of her late husband.
Marchioness "Marie" stays only 2 months of the year at the castle. The rest of the year she lives in Paris. She spends however 1.200.000 bef (an enormous amount of money in those times), on restorations which are done between 1887 and 1898.
Marchioness "Marie Arconati Visconti" gives in 1921 the castle to the people of Belgium. She dies in Paris on May 3th 1923.

Visiting the castle is a must. While you walk through the 16 rooms that are open for the public you are taken back in time. It feels and looks like the Marchioness still lives in the castle and that she can walk into one of the rooms any moment.
A visit costs 150bef. Take the freeway Brussels -Paris (E19), take exit 15 and follow the signs.

GROENENBERG

Groenenberg was built around 1900 for notary “Charles Claes after a design of architect “Y. Evrard. Landscape architect “Edmond Galoppin” designed the park. The castle was duing the second world word occupied by German officers. Under the terrace you still can find the bunker where they used to hide during bombardments. After the liberation the castle was severely damaged by British and American soldiers. The payment for the war damage took so long that the castle became uninhabitable. The castle fell to ruin and the park ran wild. In 1981 the Flemish Government decided to buy the castle and park from the heir “Cécile Houtart”. They restored the park following the old plans of “Galoppin” Also the castle is beautifully restored and holds now offices of the Flemish community. The castle is not open for visits but you can make vast walks in the 45ha park.

COLOMA

Castle Coloma is a good example of a water castle that was remodeled into a luxurious country house. It is a square building with four towers and a pear shaped roof and protecting ponds surrounds it. But instead of the narrow peepholes we see here big windows and also the other protecting measurements are gone.
The old name of the castle was castle "van Leeuw Hecke. This is probably diverted from "Leenaert Van den Hecke" who was owner of the castle in the 16th century. The castle changes often of owner in the 17th century. "Karel Vital Alexander de Coloma" marries Baroness "Euginie Roose" in 1745. She is owner of the castle and it is since her marriage with "Karel" that the castle gets his current name. He is also the one who remodels the castle drastically.
Count "Jan van der Dilft de Borghvliet" inherits the castle one generation later. The castle stays in that family until the death of Countess "Antoinette", widow of Count "Albert de Limburg-Stirum".
The castle is recently restored and is now the cultural center.
In the park we find one of the most beautiful rose gardens of Europe. These gardens are worth a visit. The entrance is free and you can visit them between May 15th and October 30th.
Castle Coloma is close to castle Gaasbeek, you will see the signs when you are on your way to Gaasbeek.

VIRON

When you are visiting Gaasbeek it is worth to making a little detour via Dilbeek where you will find castle Viron. The castle functions as the city hall now. It was built in 1862 for the Family "Viron". Architect "J.B. Cluysenaar" designed it. The castle has an English character and it supposedly has a complete calendar inside it, 12 towers, 7 staircases, 52 rooms and 365 windows.