Stuyvenberg Castle (french: Château du Stuyvenberg, nl, Kasteel van Stuyvenberg, german: Schloss Stuyvenberg) is a residence of the

Belgian Royal Family Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...

, located in

Laeken () or () is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Château du Stuyvenberg is situated at an elevation of 56 meters.elevationmap.net
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History and use

Stuyvenberg Castle was built in 1725, acquired for 200,000 francs by the Belgian State in 1840, and later bought by Leopold II who donated it to the Royal Trust. It is near the

Royal Castle of Laeken The Palace of Laeken or Castle of Laeken (french: Château de Laeken, nl, Kasteel van Laken, german: Schloss zu Laeken) is the official residence of the King of the Belgians and the Belgian Royal Family. It lies in the Brussels-Capital Regi ...

, the official residence of the King and Queen of the Belgians. The first Belgian King, Leopold I, used the castle for his mistress , and their second child Arthur was born there in 1852. Later, it was the birthplace of

King Baudouin Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his dea ...

in 1930 and Albert II in 1934; both spent their early years at Stuyvenberg. After World War II,

Elisabeth of Bavaria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

, widow of King Albert I, lived at the castle until her death in 1965. Subsequently, it was used for almost three decades as a guest house for foreign dignitaries. From 1998 to 2014,

Queen Fabiola Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

, widow of King Baudouin, called it her home. She died at Stuyvenberg on December 5, 2014. The residence has also been home to

Princess Astrid of Belgium Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 5 June 1962), is the second child and first daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and the younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe. She is married to Pri ...

, the sister of the current King Philippe.

References

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau du Stuyvenberg Royal residences in Belgium Stuyvenberg Stuyvenberg