D'Ursel Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Hingene, also known as the ''Kasteel d'Ursel'') used to be the private summer residence of the Duke of Ursel in

Hingene Hingene is a village and '' deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) of the municipality of Bornem in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. The village is bordered to the north by the Scheldt and to the east by the Rupel. It is located about south-west of ...

in the municipality of

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, Eikevlie ...

province of Antwerp ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

, Belgium. Today it is property of the State, and opened to the public.

History

The first resident was Diederik van de Werve (1519-1598), his descendants sold it to

Conrad III Schetz Conrad (or Coenraad) Schetz de Grobbendonck, later Conrad d'Ursel (1553–1632) was a nobleman in the Habsburg Netherlands and in 1604–1609 the first ordinary ambassador to England for the Archdukes Albert and Isabella. Ursel family The 5th s ...

in 1608. The estate became the summer residence of the House of Ursel. The

Dukes of Ursel 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 ...

and their family resided for 350 years on the estate. Its original view can be seen in the ''Flandria Illustrata''. A famous resident was Conrard-Albert, first Duke of Ursel (1665-1738). His son, Charles, 2nd Duke d'Ursel asked

Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni Jean-Nicolas Servan, also known as Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (2 May 1695 – 19 January 1766) was an Italian decorator, architect, scene-painter, firework designer and trompe-l'œil specialist. He was born in Florence, the son of a French ...

(1695-1766) to redesign the family estate. The front was made symmetric like a palace. The duke received important noblemen here, such as Johan von

Sinzendorf The House of Sinzendorf (also: Sinzendorff) was a Bavarian-Austrian noble family with Upper Austrian origin (Sinzendorf in Nußbach), not to be confused with the Lower Austrian House of Zinzendorf. The family belonged to prestigious circle of hig ...

und Pottendorf (1739-1813) and Joseph de Ferraris. During the 18th century the castle was known for banquets and balls. Marriages in the family were celebrated by the whole village, the dukes usually being well regarded locally. On 10 augusti 1876 the Queen and the Duke and Duchess of Saxony visited the castle and the town of Hignene. In 1894 Prince Albert and his brother in law, the Prince of Hohenzollern visited the castle. Kasteel d’Ursel Magazine N° 25 Around 1960 the castle was sold by Henri, 8th Duke d'Ursel, the furniture, family archives and contents of the library were removed from the castle. The House of Ursel left the town, and chose to reside henceforth in Brussels. In 1994 the province of Antwerp obtained ownership and restored the estate to its 17th century state. The current Duke of Ursel gave an important part of private ducal Collection in private loan (

Commodate A commodate (''commodatum''), also known as loan for use, in civil law and Scots Law is a gratuitous loan; a loan, or free concession of anything moveable or immoveable, for a certain timeframe, on condition of restoring again the same individu ...

), to be put on exhibition in the rooms of the estate.

References

External links

*
www.kasteeldursel.be/

History

References

External links

See also