Bornem Castle, also known as the Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Bornem, or ''Kasteel Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde''), is a country house, formerly a castle, located in

Bornem Bornem (, old spelling: ''Bornhem'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the village of Bornem proper, Hingene, and Weert, and . There are also the hamlets of Branst, Buitenland, Eikevl ...

province of Antwerp Antwerp Province ( nl, Provincie Antwerpen ' french: Province d'Anvers, german: Provinz Antwerpen) is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the North Brabant province of the Neth ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Bornem Castle is situated at an elevation of 1 meters.

History

The building stands on the

Oude Schelde Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region ...

, a tributary of the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

. The earliest fortification on the site was of the 10th or 11th centuries and was intended to defend against the incursions of the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

s. A manor house was built on the foundations of the older building in 1587 by the Spanish nobleman

Pedro Coloma, Baron of Bornhem Don Pedro Coloma (died 27 December 1621), Baron of Bornhem and Lord of Bobadilla, was a Spanish officer in the Army of Flanders who established a noble line in the Habsburg Netherlands, a branch of the famous House of Coloma. Family Coloma was t ...

and lord of Bobadilla, a follower of

Alexander Farnese Alessandro Farnese may refer to: *Pope Paul III (1468–1549), Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome *Alessandro Farnese (cardinal) (1520–1589), Paul's grandson, Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal-nephew *Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma Alexander Fa ...

. The property was afterwards leased by the family de Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde, who became the outright owners in 1773. The present house was built on the same site at the end of the 19th century to plans by

Hendrik Beyaert Hendrik Beyaert (Dutch) or Henri Beyaert (French) (29 July 1823 – 22 January 1894) was a Belgian architect. He is considered one of the most important Belgian architects of the 19th century. Biography Beyaert was of very humble descent ...

, after the remains of the 16th century building had been demolished. It remains in ownership of the house Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde, the current resident is John de Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde, 14th Count of Bornem.

List of Chatelains

House of Coloma Coloma or de Coloma or Colomba is an old important Spanish Noble House. A branch belongs to the Flemish nobility, and became the Counts of Bornhem. Other branches became the Counts of Elda, Marquesses of Espinar, Marquesses of Noguera and Marq ...

Pierre Coloma, Viscount of Dourlens Pierre Coloma (1587–1656), Baron of Bornhem, Viscount of Dourlens and Lord of Brestel, Terna, Allennes, Moriensart and Seroulx, was a Flemish noble lord and member of the famous House of Coloma. He was born to Pedro Coloma, Baron of Bornhem (die ...

# Jean-François Coloma, 1st Count of Bornhem # François-Claude Coloma, 2nd Count of Bornhem # Charles-Joseph-François Coloma, 3rd Count of Bornhem, died 1724 # Marie-Florence Coloma, 4th Countess of Bornhem # Aldegonde-Eleonore de Lannoy; Lady of Bornem: marr. Baudry-Adelbert de Marnix.

House of Marnix

Sources

External links

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Bouwkundig Erfgoed Vlaanderen
Castles in Belgium Castles in Antwerp Province

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...