Havré Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Havré in the town of Mons, province of Hainaut, Belgium.

History
The origins of the castle can be only traced back to the year 1226, even the counts of Flanders and Hainaut have had control over Havré since the 11th century. In 1255 Ida of Mons was married to Engelbert d'Enghien. Their descendants keep Havré Castle to the year 1423. Then Gérard d'Enghien passes the Castle on to Christophe d'Harcourt. Through marriage, the castle came into the possession of the families Dunan, Longeville and Croy.

In 1518 Philip II de Croÿ commander of Emperor Charles V, became the owner of the castle. By 1537 he was in charge of County of Hainault as grand baliff and governor. Phillipe married on 9 August 1548 Anna of Lorraine (* July 25, 1522, † May 15, 1568) as his second wife, a daughter of the Duke Anton II of Lorraine. He died before the birth of his son Charles-Philippe ( 1 September 1549 - Brussels † 25 November 1613 - in Burgundy ). Wounded by a musket Charles-Philippe was treated by Ambroise Paré at Castle Havré, who was the first surgeon to French King Charles IX and a prominent surgeon of his time.

In 1578, the castle underwent its roughest period with siege by the armies of Don Juan de Austria and the Duke of Anjou. The castle was kept without much damage. Unfortunately, in 1579 a fire was fierce and devastating burning the castle to the walls.

During the seventeenth century it is Charles Alexander, Duke of Croy, who would restore the castle and make it one of the most magnificent castles of pleasure in Belgium, where many royals and famous artists of the time liked to stay.

Shortly after the French invasion of 1792, it was quickly sold as national property. Despite its acquisition in 1807 by the family of Croy, the castle was gradually abandoned.

Finally at the beginning of the twentieth century what was left, the castle due to negligence from 1930 transformed into ruins.





Havré Castle


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Château de Louvignies is a castle located 6 kilometers from Soignies, in Hainaut Province of Belgium. It was designated as the seat of a lordship in 1389 and was acquired in 1716 by the Governor of Charleroi, Rodrigo de Peralta, who built a castle surrounded by a moat. In 1767, the structure was modernized with a basement addition, a tower and a ground floor stuccoed room decorated to 18th-century tastes. In 1798, through marriage, the castle became the stronghold of the Villegas Family.

The English garden, designed on the plan of a park was created in May, 1834 by C. Th. Petersen, probably at the request of Balthazar de Villegas.It became the home of Count Léon de Villegas de Saint-Pierre when he gave up a diplomatic career to become mayor of Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies,[1] after his marriage in 1868 to Marie-Ferdinande de Maillin. In 1870 the Count began a massive renovation of the property, hiring Désiré Limbourg as the architect to renovate the buildings and Louis Fuchs, as the landscape architect. After the purchase of additional land, drainage and backfilling of surrounding moats, 600 trees were planted in 1871. The following year a pond, spanned by two bridges, was created and the cooling house was built. In 1873, paths and lawns were completed, and the park was fenced and gated. Between 1874 and 1875, the Marsh Chapel was built, followed by a stable wing and carriage house.

The castle itself was restructured between 1878 and 1882. The tower was enlarged to dominate the north side and the southern facing wing was doubled in size. A new wing on the ground floor contained state rooms, a lounge and dining room and the eastern wing was extended adding turrets and modern amenities. The entrance beneath a wide porch, which had formerly been on the west at the end of the bridge over the moat, was moved to the southern façade overlooking the park. Upon entering the vestibule, rooms branched to the right into the welcoming parlor and to the left into the pool room with a large sweeping staircase. The staircase was festooned with metal railings and motifs of the Villegas Family arms. The interior was remodeled but the fireplaces and painted areas above the doors were restored. The upstairs bedrooms with baths stood on either side of a central hallway. The kitchen and service areas were located in the basement and dumbwaiters were installed. Radiators were later added and electricity was installed in 1897.

At present the grounds are open from May to November. The interior design, furniture and household items which belonged to the Villegas Family have been preserved in the home. It is representative of the Belle Epoque period. The property has been featured in several films, including Claude Berri's Germinal, François Ozon's Angel and François-Xavier Vives' film Landes, featuring Marie Gillain. An exhibit, featuring former resident Maria de Villegas de Saint-Pierre, daughter of Count Léon de Villegas de Saint-Pierre, who grew up in the home and was a nurse during World War I was also featured in the home.

Château de Louvignies


The castle of Ecaussinnes-Lalaing developed early in the Middle Ages thanks to its strategic position on a rocky promontory overhanging the valley of the Sennette, at the boundaries of the County of Hainaut with the Duchy of Brabant.

The first mention of a stone castle was in the 12th century. in 1357, Joan, daughter of Hoste of Ecaussinnes, marries Simon of Lalaing, Grand Bailiff of Hainault and Seneschal of Ostrevant. Simon became lord of Ecaussinnes upon his father-in-law's death. The line of Lalaing would give the second part of its name to the castle and village. The castle was however to pass briefly to another family, after the daughter and only heir of Simon III, Mary, espoused John I of Croÿ, Count of Chimay and Grand Bailiff of Hainault.

The house of Croÿ would rule over Ecaussinnes from 1476 to 1529. John I transformed the defensive fortress into a residential castle worthy of his rank of councillor of the Duke of Burgundy. When he died in 1516, the castle passed to his brother James, Bishop of Cambrai, who sold it to his nephew Charles, first Prince of Chimay. His daughter, Margaret, inherited Ecaussinnes. She married Charles of Lalaing, thus bringing back the seigneury to their former lords.

After troubled times during the Spanish occupation of the Southern Netherlands, Florent of Berlaymont and his wife Margaret of Ecaussinnes-Lalaing sold the estate in 1624 to Philip van der Burch. The new owner had been a magistrate of the court of justice of Bruges, and had recently been appointed Grand Bailiff of Hainault by the Archdukes of Austria Albert and Isabella. It is interesting to note that when the castle passed into the houses of Lalaing and Croÿ, the first new occupants also held the same position of Grand Bailiff of Hainault.

For 230 years the castle of Ecaussinnes-Lalaing was the home of the van der Burch. Antoine-Félicien van der Burch (1670- 1736) did a lot to improve the castle's appearance, such as laying out the gardens. He was granted the title of count by Emperor Charles VI.

When Count Charles van der Burch died in 1854, the new Napoleonic law prohibiting to bequeath all or most of one's properties to one child at the expense of the others, the heirs were forced to sell the castle to divide. It was acquired by the Duke of Arenberg, who only rented out the land and left the castle uninhabited.

Occupied by the German, then Canadian troops during the First World War, the castle narrowly escaped from being transformed by industrialists into working-class housing units after the war. Canon priest Puissant started some renovations, then convinced Count Adrien van der Burch, a descendent of the past proprietors, to purchase the castle and restore it to its former glory.

The count's son having died during WWII, and lacking other relatives, he created the "van der Burch Foundation" in order to preserve the castle after his death, which occured six years later. The president of the foundation is now the Professor Cauchies from the UCL. the castle is inhabited by Count Robert d'Ursel, administrator of the foundation, and his wife, who is vice-president.



https://www.eupedia.com/belgium/ecaussines-lalaing.shtml

Écaussinnes-Lalaing Castle


Le château de La Follie, situé au bord de la Sennette, à Écaussinnes-d'Enghien en province de Hainaut (Belgique), est un manoir du xvie siècle construit sur les fondations d'un ancien château fort (xive siècle).

Historique

Si le bâtiment actuel n'est pas plus ancien que le xvie siècle, des fouilles effectuées en 1928 par Pierre de Lichtervelde ont permis de découvrir d'anciennes douves de deux siècles plus anciennes. L'ancien château avait allure de forteresse avec quatre tours rondes avec mâchicoulis reliées entre elles par des murs de trois mètres d'épaisseur, le tout formant un solide quadrilatère. Circonscrit de douves, son entrée était défendue par un pont-levis.

Sous le château actuel se trouvent d'immenses caves voutées, où l'on peut encore voir les fondations des quatre tours d'angle aujourd'hui disparues. La présence d'une cheminée donne à penser que ces lieux étaient encore habitables au xive siècle. Au xvie siècle, pour la construction du nouveau château, le pavement fut surélevé, rendant ces pièces totalement souterraines.

Kasteel van La Follie

Le site du château de Boussu est actuellement un site de fouilles archéologiques, situé en Belgique, en province de Hainaut, dans la commune de Boussu.

Les ruines du châtelet d'entrée sont actuellement remises en état et sont le seul élément architectural encore visible à ce jour.

L'histoire du château

Époque gallo-romaine.
Le site sur lequel a été érigé le château de Boussu a été occupé dès l'époque gallo-romaine.

Moyen Âge
Dès le xe siècle, une importante forteresse médiévale y est bâtie.

Possession de la famille de Fontaine, le château devient la propriété des Hénin-Liétard à la suite d'un mariage. Le premier fait connu de son histoire militaire se situe au xve siècle. En 1402, le seigneur de Chaudmont, ennemi juré du seigneur de Boussu, assiège son château. Après quelques jours de résistance, celui-ci est pris par les assaillants, livré au pillage et ravagé, partiellement, par un incendie.

Renaissance

Sa destruction en 1478, lors des guerres entre la France et les États bourguignons, permit, dès 1540, à l'architecte montois Jacques Du Brœucq, à la demande de Jean de Hénin-Liétard, premier comte de Boussu, Grand Ecuyer de l'Empereur Charles Quint, de construire le « palais de Boussu, la plus belle demeure qu'on puisse voir en tous les Pays-Bas, une demeure digne d'un roi, ... », selon Guichardin.

En 1545, vers le 2 février, l’empereur Charles-Quint séjourne dans le comté de Hainaut. Il en profite pour rendre visite à son ami Jean de Hennin-Liétard et admirer sa somptueuse demeure encore en construction. Il lui offre un Hercule d’argent de douze pieds de haut dont lui a fait présent François Ier. Charles-Quint, pour cette occasion, est accompagné de grands seigneurs de sa cour. Le banquet offert en son honneur fut, paraît-il, des plus fastueux. L’empereur se plaît à Boussu et décide, dès lors, d’y passer la nuit. Il ne se rend que le lendemain à l’abbaye de Saint-Ghislain, déléguant au festin du soir quelques courtisans dont le prince de Condé. De nombreux architectes viennent à Boussu afin de s’inspirer des lieux pour d'autres châteaux. 1554:Charles-Quint passe à nouveau au château de Boussu car la guerre vient de reprendre avec la France et il part visiter toutes les places fortes situées à proximité des frontières. L’accueil est, une nouvelle fois, très fastueux et donne naissance à la légende suivant laquelle le seigneur de Boussu aurait mis le feu à son château, sous les yeux de Charles-Quint, précisant qu’après la visite d’un hôte aussi illustre, personne n’était plus digne d’y pénétrer.Charles-Quint visitera ce palais en 1545 et 1554, Philippe II en 1549 et 1558, Louis XIV fêtera son anniversaire en 1655 et Guillaume III en 1676. Il est progressivement détruit par les nombreuses guerres qui émaillent les xvie et xviie siècles

Il est démoli en 1810, complètement en ruine, à l'exception du châtelet d'entrée restauré par le comte de Caraman.

Lors de la restauration du château en 1810, le général comte Maurice de Caraman fait placer, sur la façade, une pierre portant l’inscription : « Brûlé en 1554 » afin de perpétuer la tradition locale. Il y décède le 3 septembre 1835.

Seconde Guerre mondiale
Durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il est occupé par la Luftwaffe qui y installe un important dépôt de munitions, dynamité le 2 septembre 1944.

Années 1980
Devenu propriété communale en 1989, il est donné en gestion à l'A.S.B.L. « Gy Seray Boussu » qui y entreprend un long travail de mise en valeur.

Le xxie siècle
En septembre 2010, et après quinze ans d'attente, l’historien Marcel Capouillez lance la première phase de la campagne de restauration prévue pour une durée d’un an3. La perspective de Mons 2015 (capitale européenne de la Culture en 2015) a donné un coup d’accélérateur au projet de remise en état du châtelet de Boussu.

Depuis 2010, le centre d’interprétation du domaine des Seigneurs de Boussu utilise les parties restaurées du châtelet d’entrée datant du xvie siècle.

Ces parties comprennent le porche de l’édifice, la tour Est ainsi que les caves.

Le château est devenu un musée retraçant sa propre vie. L’A.S.B.L « Gy Seray Boussu » envisage la création d’une bibliothèque au sein du monument4.

Les visiteurs peuvent y découvrir :

- L’histoire des familles qui ont occupé le château de Boussu (Hennin-Liétard et Caraman).

- L’évolution de l’édifice en passant par l’imposante forteresse médiévale, par le « Palais de la Renaissance » bâti dès 1539, par l’architecte montois Jacques Du Broeucq jusqu’à la « Villa Caraman » au xixe siècle aménagée sur les structures du châtelet du xvie siècle. Le château était considéré à l'époque comme « la plus belle demeure que l'on puisse voir en tous les Pays-Bas, une demeure digne d'un roi, ... » selon Pierre Du Mont L'Ancien vers 1600.  

- Une multitude de vestiges (Monnaies, clefs, poteries, boulets de canons, balles de mousquets, jouets...) qui sont le fruit des nombreuses campagnes de fouilles archéologiques menées sur le site du château de Boussu depuis 1991. Ces vestiges ont permis de multiples découvertes servant aujourd’hui de références scientifiques (typologie, datation, …).

- Un musée lapidaire dans les caves du château qui permet d’admirer de nombreuses pierres sculptées mises au jour lors des fouilles ainsi que lors du déblaiement des ruines menées sur le site du château de Boussu depuis 1991.

- Le parc du château, site naturel classé de douze hectares. Ce parc romantique à l’anglaise offre un riche aperçu de la faune et de la flore de la vallée marécageuse de la Haine.

Kasteel van Boussu

Thoricourt, village champêtre.
Il semble que le temps y ait arrêté sa course inexorable. Les environs ont pu conserver pratiquement intacte l'atmosphère campagnarde douce et tranquille qu'on leur connaît.
Elle met en valeur, au détour d'une allée bordée de platanes, un des nombreux châteaux du Hainaut, le...

château de Thoricourt
....témoin merveilleux de l'architecture hennuyère du XVIIIème siècle et l'exemple d'un château sans "histoires".
Construit sur une élévation de terrain, il domine la campagne et les bois qui l'entourent.
Demeure du souvenir et de la nostalgie par excellence, il apparaît aujourd'hui comme l'image vivante d'une époque révolue.

En 1142, l'endroit était désigné sous le nom de Thorincurth (ferme de Thur) et relevait de la pairie de Silly. Le lieu était déjà cité en 1081 sous le nom de Tourincourt. Avant sa date de construction qui remonte à 1768, comme l'attestent les ancres dans le mur côté sud, la Seigneurie de Thoricourt dépendait, semble-t-il, de La Baronnie de Silly.
Au début du XIV siècle la petite seigneurie appartenait aux Lalaing pour passer vers 1516 à un certain Aubert du Broeucquet. A partir d'ici, les versions des historiens varient. En effet, selon les uns :
Le "Domaine de Thoricourt" appartint, durant trois siècles, à la famille "de Brunquet"(ou "du Broeucquet"). Il passa par alliance aux "du Fossey" et ensuite par héritage aux "La Marlière". Ces derniers en furent les seigneurs pendant près de 100 ans.
Selon d'autres :
C'est en 1704 qu'un parent des Broeucquet, Simon Le Secq, vend Thoricourt à Nicolas de la Marlière. Et c'est :

Charles-François de La Marlière (ou Claude-François....) époux de Marie Thérèse de Pascal
qui construisit le château actuel en 1768, sur l'emplacement ou à proximité immédiate d'une bâtisse (ancien manoir voir le Manoir) dont on ignore tout du développement comme de l'importance, alors que le château d'Attre, dans la même région, existait déjà depuis près de 16 ans.

Étienne, (1790-1871) Vicomte Obert de Quévy, né de cette union épousa en 1811 Joséphine Marin de Thieusies (1789-1863).

Son beau-père, le Vicomte Obert de Thieusies exigea de lui qu'il prenne l'engagement, pour pouvoir épouser sa fille, de substituer à son nom de Quévy, celui de Thieusies.


http://www.domaine-de-thoricourt.eu/histoire.html

Kasteel van Thoricourt

Feluy Castle, locally known as Château-fort de Feluy, lies in the village of the same name, in the province of Hainaut in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Feluy Castle was built in the 1380's on the orders of Eustache de Bousies, probably on the site of an earlier fortification. In 1489 it was besieged and taken by the troops of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, led by Albert III, Duke of Saxony.

The castle remained however in the hands of the De Bousies family until 1548. Then it went to the Rubempré family through marriage. In 1576 it went to the De Renesse family through inheritance. Because of the damages the castle had suffered during the wars in the 16th century, René de Renesse rebuilt the castle in 1615. The De Renesse family owned Feluy Castle until 1658. Then Feluy Castle went to the De Berghes family through marriage.

During the Franco-Dutch War, in 1674, William III of Orange and his troops camped at the castle before the Battle of Seneffe. During the Nine Years' War the castle was taken multiple times by French troops. In 1692 the Duke of Luxembourg set up headquarters in Feluy Castle and later pillaged it. After that the castle switched hands between the wars' adversaries multiple times.

In 1720 the last of the De Berghes died and Feluy Castle was inherited by the d'Albert family. In 1774 the castle was acquired by the Countess  d'Isendoorn à Blois. By then the castle was devastated by the wars and the soldiers that had been garrisoned there. She had the castle completely rebuilt. From the moated polygonal medieval castle only the gate tower, part of a corner tower and the curtain wall between them remained. She had a new mansion built on the castle island in 1777.

Several other owners followed but by 1972 the castle was in a state of dilapidation. A thorough restoration followed.

At present Feluy Castle is used for cultural purposes and weddings. 


https://www.castles.nl/feluy-castle

Feluy Castle

Trazegnies Castle is a castle located in Trazegnies, Courcelles in the Belgian province of Hainaut.

History
Trazegnies was originally a powerful independent seigneurie on the edges of the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Hainaut and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and was ruled by a separate dynasty. The original castle was built by Gilles I in the 11th Century but was almost completely destroyed in 1554 by the armies of Henry II of France during the Italian War of 1551–1559. Subsequently rebuilt, a corps de logis was added to the castle by Gillion-Othon de Trazegnies in the Louis XIII style in the 17th Century.

The extinction of the Trazegnies dynasty led to the sale of the castle to a coal mine which partitioned off its land, leaving the castle itself to the Belgian state. It had become derelict by 1926 and suffered severe damage from subsidence as a result of underground mining. However, a civic association called the "Friends of Trazegnies Castle" (Les Amis du Château de Trazegnies) successfully opposed its destruction and began a gradual programme of restoration with the support of the Walloon Region. The castle is currently open to the public on designated days.

Kasteel van Trazegnies

Le château de Fontaine-l'Évêque également connu sous le nom de château Bivort se situe à Fontaine-l'Évêque, ville belge, dans la province de Hainaut.

Histoire
La seigneurie de Fontaine, située à la frontière du Hainaut et de Liège, relève de la famille Hennin-Liétard jusqu'en 1596. Reconstruit en grande partie après 1554, le château conserve néanmoins son enceinte du xiiie siècle et la chapelle gothique.

Le château passe ensuite par plusieurs maisons. Vers 1674, Michel-Luc Camille de Rodoan construit le portail et la façade actuelle de la chapelle. L'aile résidentielle des xvie et xviie siècles est prolongée dans la première moitié du xviiie siècle. Le domaine est ruiné à la fin du xviiie siècle.

Il est racheté en 1864 par Clément Bivort de la Saudée qui complète l'aile d'habitation, puis par la commune de Fontaine-l'Évêque en 1946.

En 1869, l'architecte Auguste Cador entreprend une restauration, mêlée d'esprit néo-médiéval, épurée lors des travaux menés en 1954 par Simon Brigode.

Kasteel van Fontaine-l'Évêque

Attre Castle is a former castle, now a country house or château, in Attre in the municipality of Brugelette, province of Hainaut, Belgium.

History
The present château at Attre was built in the middle of the 18th century by Count François Philippe Franeau d’Hyon van Gomegnies, on the foundations of a medieval castle that had been in the hands of the family since 1520. The structural work was finished in 1752, and Count François died shortly after in 1755. His son François Ferdinand Franeau d’Hyon continued the work of his father and saw to it that the interior decorations were finished. It took more than 30 years before the interior was completely decorated.

The present building is in a Neo-Classical style and the interiors are French, mainly Louis Quinze.

In addition to the landscaped garden and the forest park, it is home to several melancholic "follies", such as the Belvédère tower ruins, the 15th century dovecote, the hermitage, the Vignou tower, the Swiss chalet, the bath pavilion, "le Rocher", an artificial cave.

Attre Castle


Fosteau Castle (French: Château du Fosteau) is a castle in Leers-et-Fosteau in the municipality of Thuin, province of Hainaut, in Belgium.

History

The first castle at Fosteau was erected in the 14th century. In approximately 1380 Wauthier de Semousies became owner when Duchess Joan of Brabant gave it to him. His successors were the lords of Zwenne, de Marotte, de Henry and de Jamblines. They built several other buildings around the castle. The hall is Gothic.

The castle became a protected monument in 1979. Since 1980, it has housed an exhibition of antique furniture. Everything within the castle is also available for sale.