The Château du Moisnil is a château or manor house of Wallonia, located in the village of Maizeret, municipality of

Andenne Andenne (; wa, Andene) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Andenne had a total population of 25,240. The total area is 86.17 km² which gives a population density of 292 i ...

, province of

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, Belgium.

The Château today

The only remaining wing was built in addition to the previous constructions in 1902 by architect Octave Flanneau (1860-1937) in Louis XV style with a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

, for Jules van Dievoet, lawyer at the

Belgian Supreme Court The Court of Cassation ( nl, Hof van Cassatie, french: Cour de cassation, german: Kassationshof) of Belgium is the supreme court of the Belgian judiciary. The court is composed of thirty judges with life tenure who are nominated by the High Coun ...

, and his wife Marguerite Anspach.

History

Ancien Régime

The whole fief counted about 100 ha for Maizeret and about 160 ha for Moinil. The Moinil lot consisted in 1314, of a "tower" and a house, which would become the nucleus of the future castle. The "sub-fief" of Moinil frequently changed owners: in 1645 the seigniory and its castle are sold for 22,000 guilders, to be sold again in 1677 for 2,440 guilders, the castle and the buildings being in ruins. The fief became the property of Vincent de la Boverie, ''mayeur'' of the ferrons and master of the forges who rebuilt it and transformed it into a real "pleasure home". The de Baré family obtained the lands of Maizeret and Moisnil in 1753. The last lord of Maizeret in the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

was Baron Jacques de Baré de Moisnil, lord of Houchenée.

20th century

In 1902, the extensions made by Jules van Dievoet after the plans of architect Octave Flanneau were made. In June 1922, the « Les Journaux Réunis de Lille à Roubaix » company bought the château including its grounds of 35 hectares from Marguerite Anspach, widow of Jules van Dievoet. As a result of this purchase, Mrs Duhamel, owner of this press company, occupied the property for nearly 17 years. Later, Marguerite de la Barre d'Erquelinnes, wife of Count Antoine d'Ursel, acquired the land of Moisnil on 21 March 1939.

The family A family is a domestic or social group. Family or The Family may also refer to: Mathematics *Family of curves, a set of curves resulting from a function with variable parameters *Family of sets, a collection of sets *Indexed family, a family wh ...

built a new porch in 1960. It was also around this time that the operations of the adjoining farm ceased. Since 1988, the Château has been inhabited by their son, Count Didier d'Ursel.

WWII

Shortly before the war, the castle was requisitioned to house the garrison of Fort Maizeret. Beginning from the general mobilization of September 1938, it served as

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...

to the soldiers in charge of the defense of the valley of the Meuse. On 12 May 1940 the castle was bombed by surprise by the Luftwaffe, at the same time as the city of Namur. The oldest parts of the old Château were destroyed, and today only the cellars remain, hidden under a layer of gravel.

Anecdote

It is said that the old château had been inhabited in the 17th century by Henri de La Fontaine who happened to be related to

Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

, the famous fabulist. It is said that Jean de La Fontaine, who followed Louis XIV as a historiographer during the siege of Namur, stayed there in 1692 with this distant cousin and composed "'' Les Animaux malades de la peste''" there. The stone bench from which he could admire the beauty of the Mosan landscape is still there.

Dendrology

There was in 1912, at the time of Jules van Dievoet, a very nice specimen of Tsuga mertensiana in the grounds of the chateau''.Jean Chalon, "Les arbres remarquables de la Belgique", in ''Bulletin de la Société royale de Botanique'', Volume 49, 1912, p. 166.''

Armorial

File:Blason village be Maizeret.svg, Arms of the last lord of Maizeret in the

, Baron Jacques de Baré de Moisnil, lord of Houchenée. File:Van Dievoet arms.svg, Arms of Jules van Dievoet, owner of the Chateau of which he built the only remaining part in 1902. File:Blason famille Anspach (Belgique).svg, Arms of Marguerite Anspach, owner after the death of her husband Jules van Dievoet. File:Armes de la famille de la Barre d'Erquelinnes.svg, Arms of Marguerite de La Barre d’Erquelinnes, wife of Count Antoine d'Ursel, who acquired the land of Moisnil on 21 March 1939. File:Armoiries d'Ursel.svg, Arms of the

Ursel family The House of Ursel is the name of an important old Belgian noble family of German origin. The Head of the House is styled the Duke of Ursel, while other members are styled as Count/Countess d'Ursel. History The Ursel family roots are ...

, current owners.

Bibliography

* Paul De Zuttere, "Contribution à l'œuvre des peintres

Antoine Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

Ignace Brice Ignace Brice (2 April 1795–10 August 1866) was a neoclassic painter of genre, portraits and religious scenes from Brussels. Career Ignace Brice at first studied under his father, Antoine Brice, and at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, w ...

(XVIIIe et XIXe siècles) et généalogie succincte de la famille alliée Flanneau", in ''l'Intermédiaire des Généalogistes'', Brussels, 2003, n°345, p. 113 à 133. * Jean Chalon, "Les arbres remarquables de la Belgique", dans ''Bulletin de la Société royale de Botanique'', Volume 49, 1912, p. 166, tells us that: « on the grounds of M. Jules van Dievoet (château du Moisnil, v. N°s 727 à 731), there is a nice '' Tsuga Mertensiana specimen''. 1211. Maizeret, ''Tsuga''. »

Notes and references

{{reflist

External links

Le château du Moisnil à Maizeret, par l'architecte Octave Flanneau

Historique du château du Moisnil à Maizeret
Moisnil Moisnil Andenne Van Dievoet family Ursel