Castle of Renesse
Encyclopedia
Oostmalle
Oostmalle is a village which is located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The village itself is part of the municipality of Malle.Oostmalle was an independent municipality until 1976. It has a surface area of 28.27 km² and in 2004 had 6,510 inhabitants....
(Malle
Malle
Malle is a municipality located in the Campine region of the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostmalle and Westmalle. On 1 January 2006 Malle had a total population of 14,083...
), in the Campine
Campine
The Campine is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-western Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands...
region of the province of Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
(Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, Belgium).
13th century
In 1374 Jan van Harduemont sells his domain in Oostmalle to Costijn van Berchem, a descendant of Arnoldus Berchthout, who lived near Antwerp.1431–1464: Construction of the first castle by Willem van Berchem
Willem van Berchem, who himself lived at WommelgemWommelgem
Wommelgem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Wommelgem proper. On January 1, 2006 Wommelgem had a total population of 12,126...
, built a castle at Oostmalle between 1431 and 1464. He was married to Mechtildis Cock van Werdenborgh. Nothing remains of this original castle, and the only visible vestiges remaining are the donjon which now is the articulation point of the castle and the so-called tournament beam which is now placed above the fire place in the knight room. In 1459 his daughter Elisabeth marries Wouter van Hamal, who hereby inherited the Oostmalle domain, and added vast property in Limburg and Liege.
On 30 November 1501, their daughter Anna van Hamal married Frederik van Renesse
Van Renesse
Van Renesse is an old Dutch aristocratic family that stems from the town of Renesse in Zeeland.-History:There is some debate regarding the origin of the family; some historians claim that they are the Renesse family was a branch of the German Sayn dynasty. The family played an important role as...
(b. 13 March 1470), descendant of a Diederick VI, 12th count of Holland and Sophie van Rheinick. He was Drossaard of Diest and Breda, Councilor of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
and stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
of the Netherlands, Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
and Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
. After his death in 1538, he was succeeded by his son Jan van Renesse who married Elisabeth van Nassau, an illegitimate daughter of Hendrik van Nassau, who was an uncle of William the Silent
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
.
1542: Devastation of the Castle
In 1542, William Duke of GuelderWilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg .William was born in and died in Düsseldorf. He was the only son of John III, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. William took over rule of his father's estates upon his death in 1539...
rose against Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
. His troops were led by Maarten van Rossum
Maarten van Rossum
Maarten van Rossum was a Dutch Guelderian military tactician and later field marshal at the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders....
, notorious for his pillage of the Campine
Campine
The Campine is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-western Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands...
region. The village of Oostmalle and the castle were burned to ashes. Only the main tower of the castle and the church tower of Oostmalle remained intact.
1545–1548: a new castle is built by Jan VIII van Renesse
Margaret of Parma
Margaret, Duchess of Parma , Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst...
(1561), Lamoral, Count of Egmont
Lamoral, Count of Egmont
Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere was a general and statesman in the Habsburg Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands.The Count of Egmont headed one of the...
and his wife, William I of Orange-Nassau
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
, to name a few. On 28 July 1561, Frederik van Renesse succeeded his father as Lord of Oostmalle, he married Helena Torck.
The struggle between the Protestant north of the Netherlands and the Spanish-controlled Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
, left its marks on the region and Oostmalle suffered severely from the Eighty Years War. The occupation of the castle during the Eighty Years War by soldiers (1538, 1603) did no good to the state of the castle. Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...
even confiscated the property of Frederik van Renesse for a while.
Willem van Renesse, married to Margaretha van der Aa van Renesse, son of Frederik, was the last occupant of the castle. After he died in 1630, the family moved to Elderen
Riemst
Riemst is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006 Riemst had a total population of 15,963. The total area is 57.88 km² which gives a population density of 276 inhabitants per km²....
in Limburg. In 1700, Count Francis Hyacinthus van Renesse, allows secretary Peter De Jonghe to live in the service building. Around 1730 Frans Lambrechts van Renesse marries with Carolina van Breidbach Burrescheim.
1790–1800: Decline and demolition
Over the years, the main building decayed slowly, because of lack of funding for maintenance and repairs. In 1729, N. Spirlet became scout, stadtholder and steward of Oostmalle. Spirlet did his best to manage the property as good as possible, but eventually without success. In 1793, the main building of the castle was demolished and between 1778 and 1830 the farm was also destroyed.1830: The beginning of a new era
On 6 October 1830, Count Clement-Wenceslas de Renesse-Breidbach sold the castle and the domain to Viscount Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de GisigniesLeonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies
Leonard Pierre Joseph, Viscount du Bus de Gisignies was a soldier and politician in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. He was born as Leonard Pierre Joseph Dubus, but on 14 June 1822, because of name multiplication, du Bus de Gisignies was added to his name...
, who had been commissioner-general of the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, for the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830...
, and afterwards was appointed Minister of State by William I of the Netherlands
William I of the Netherlands
William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....
.
Léonard du Bus de Gisignies renovated the old service building into a country house with large windows and redesigned the interior in Empire style
Empire (style)
The Empire style, , sometimes considered the second phase of Neoclassicism, is an early-19th-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts followed in Europe and America until around 1830, although in the U. S. it continued in popularity in...
. The neighboring field was transformed into an English garden with remarkable trees such as sequoia
Sequoia
Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae . Common names include coast redwood, California redwood, and giant redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 12001800 years or more...
s. His grandson Bernard Daniel, son of the famous ornithologist Bernard du Bus de Gisignies
Bernard du Bus de Gisignies
Jonkheer Bernard Aimé Léonard du Bus de Gisignies was a Dutch nobleman and later on a Belgian politician, ornithologist and paleontologist. He was the second son of Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies...
, would live in the castle and become burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
of Oostmalle.
In 1896, Isabelle, the only daughter of Viscount Bernard Daniel du Bus de Gisignies (1832–1917), the oldest du Bus-heir, married Count Maximilian de Renesse-Breidbach. Shortly after the birth of their sixth child Isabelle died. Maximilian remarried with Godelieve, the only daughter of Viscount Chretien du Bus de Gisignies (1845–1883), younger brother of Bernard Daniel, and together they had seven children.
1920: Twentieth century, redesign of the castle
After World War I, Maximilian started rebuilding the castle in Flemish Neo-renaissance style. However the construction was stopped after completion of the right-wing of the castle. The 16th century left-wing remained as it was, but was no longer used to live in.During both World War I and World War II, German military occupied the castle. On 15 March 1941 a British bombardment destroyed part of the left wing of the castle. At the end of the war, in 1944 the castle was used by British and Canadian forces as a hospital. The tornado which devastated Oostmalle on 25 June 1967, spared the castle but the damage in the park remains visible until today. Count Thierry de Renesse-Breidbach, who had been mayor of Oostmalle since 1933, dies on 24 October 1973. Since his marriage with Clara Van Gelder, he no longer lived at the castle and he had been contemplating to sell the castle to the village of Oostmalle. It will taken until after the union of Oostmalle
Oostmalle
Oostmalle is a village which is located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The village itself is part of the municipality of Malle.Oostmalle was an independent municipality until 1976. It has a surface area of 28.27 km² and in 2004 had 6,510 inhabitants....
and Westmalle
Westmalle
Westmalle is a village which is located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The village itself is part of the municipality of Malle.-Tourism:...
in 1977, before the castle is acquired by Malle
Malle
Malle is a municipality located in the Campine region of the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostmalle and Westmalle. On 1 January 2006 Malle had a total population of 14,083...
.
On 16 May 1983 the castle and the domain were acquired by the municipality of Malle
Malle
Malle is a municipality located in the Campine region of the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostmalle and Westmalle. On 1 January 2006 Malle had a total population of 14,083...
. Since 25 March 1985, the castle and its surroundings are owned by Domein de Renesse a non-profit organization, responsible for the exploitation of the castle, which is now being used as a museum, for cultural activities and concerts.
Source
- Heemkundige Kring van Malle, Jaarboek – 1985, pp. 93–156
- Domein De Renesse