Crèvecœur Castle () is a ruined castle in

Bouvignes-sur-Meuse Bouvignes-sur-Meuse (, ; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Dinant, located in the province of Namur, Belgium, on the River Meuse. In municipal terms, the ''commune'' was merged with Dinant in 1965. Either it or ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, part of the city of

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

and

province of Namur Namur (; ; ) is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the West) on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and the French department of Ardennes. Its ...

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

. It is owned by the Walloon Region. Its field can be visited freely all year.

Etymology

During a siege against the castle around 1430, three knights are said to have defended the castle to defend their wives, but were killed in battle; their wives in turn took up arms in revenge, but were likewise killed. Heartbroken and believing all was lost, the ladies of the castle donned long white robes, climbed the parapet, and jumped off together to their deaths. This legend is the origin of the castle's name, Crèvecœur ("broken heart"). Since at least 1778, the original context has been distorted and the legend has been tied to the French siege of 1554.

Description

The actual castle of Crèvecœur rises on a cliff eighty meters above the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

. The core is formed by a square keep from ca. 1320. Along the keep, two staircases of twelve steps give access to a protruding, semi-circular bastille from the 15th century. The full length of forty meters reached Crèvecœur ca. 1430. Below Crèvecœur is the old count's castle, which is three times as long and whose ruins are situated on three levels. The highest and also the oldest is at the height of the Romanesque keep (floor plan 15 x 11.5 metres). On a second terrace, five meters lower, was the farmstead, which was extended in the 13th century toward Sint-Lambertuskerk. This part contains a still remarkably well-preserved cellar. The Saint Catherine's Chapel, the coinage and the large hall that served as town hall were also located here. The third and lowest terrace came up against the Sint-Lambertus Church.

History

Already at the end of the 11th century,

Godfrey I, Count of Namur Godfrey of Namur (attested in 1080; died 19 August 1139) was a Lotharingian nobleman. He was Count ''jure uxoris'' of Porcéan from 1097 until his death. From 1102, he was also Count of Namur. He was the oldest son of Count Albert III and his ...

had a fortress built at Bouvignes. His son Henry the Blind had heavy walls built around it. Archaeologically identified fire marks are associated with a siege of Bouvignes in

1188 Year 1188 ( MCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 22 – King Ferdinand II dies after returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He is succeeded by h ...

Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut Baldwin V of Hainaut (1150 – 17 December 1195) was count of Hainaut (1171–1195), margrave of Namur as Baldwin I (1189–1195) and count of Flanders as Baldwin VIII (1191–1195). History He was the son of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut. In t ...

. Knights from the

County of Champagne The County of Champagne (; ) was a medieval territory and feudal principality in the Kingdom of France. It developed on the rich plains between Paris and the border of the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century. It became an economic hub of north ...

then came to help the Namur with the defence. On behalf of

Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg Ermesinde (July 1186 – 12 February 1247) ruled as the countess of Luxembourg from 1197 until her death. She was the only child of Count Henry IV and his second wife Agnes of Guelders. Succession Prior to her birth, Ermesinde's aging father, ...

Waleran III, Duke of Limburg Waleran III (or Walram III) ( – 2 July 1226) was initially lord of Montjoie, then count of Luxembourg from 1214. He became count of Arlon and duke of Limburg on his father's death in 1221. He was the son of Henry III of Limburg and Sophia of ...

besieged the castle in 1214, but this time it held out. From the 14th century, it was the people of Liège who threatened the castle. A first siege took place in 1321 without success. Presumably just before that, around 1320, the square tower of Crèvecœur was erected on a separate rock. In the old feud between Bouvignes in

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

and Dinant in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, this building was a response to the tower of Montorgueil that the Dinantians had built on the other side of the

. Crèvecœur was extended in 1388 by master builder Godefroid de Bofiaule and later received a semicircular extension (bastille). A third construction phase took place during and after a new siege. That happened when Bouvignes was in Burgundian hands. The captain of Crèvecœur, Jean le Blondel (Blondeau), tried to capture the tower of Montorgueil on the night of 5 to 6 February 1429. At the request of the Dinantezen, Prince-Bishop John of Heinsberg launched the

Wars of Liège War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...

of 1429–1431. Despite the use of a "cat" (medieval assault construction) and serious damage to the castle, the people of Liège were unable to enter. With the arrival of

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

, the siege was broken down and a truce was concluded. After many quarrels, sieges and battles, Dinant and Bouvignes finally met the same fate: in 1554 they were sacked by the French soldiers of King

Henry II of France Henry II (; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was List of French monarchs#House of Valois-Angoulême (1515–1589), King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I of France, Francis I and Claude of France, Claude, Du ...

. Because of the resistance against the French army, Crèvecœur Castle was heavily damaged by artillery. It lost its military function and was manned only as a watchtower. To this end, it was partly rebuilt between 1567 and 1580. In 1655 the French took the castle one last time and in 1672 it was dismantled under the supervision of François d'Otreppe. On the 13 May 1940, during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

troops from the ''II./Schützen-Regiment 7'' (a unit from the 7th Panzer Division under the command of

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

) seized the castle from the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

''II/66e régiment d'infanterie'' after crossing the Meuse. The ruin was restored in 1950–1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crevecoeur Castle Ruined castles in Belgium Castles in Belgium Castles in Namur (province) History of Namur Dinant

Etymology

Description

History

See also

References