Franchimont Castle (french: Château de Franchimont) is a medieval castle in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Theux
Theux (; wa, Teu) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 11,571 inhabitants. The total area is 83.36 km², giving a population density of 139 inhabitants per km². ...
,
Liège Province
Liège (; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium.
Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Du ...
,
Wallonia
Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
,
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 th ...
. It sits at the western end of a small hill south of the village of Theux, a
sub-municipality.
History
![FranchimontCastleLaterModel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/FranchimontCastleLaterModel.jpg)
It is thought to have originally been built in the 11th century, as a stronghold of the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège
The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...
. The original building was extended several times during the Middle Ages, once after a fire in 1387.
In 1487 the castle was besieged, and around the same period the La Marck family took ownership of it. In the early 16th century the outer wall was built, with
casemates and an artillery tower added.
The
prince-bishops of Liège took the title of Marquis of Franchimont at the start of the 16th century, with Franchimont Castle serving as the base of the
Marquessate of Franchimont. The Marquessate was a small province of the Prince-Bishopric, six leagues long by four leagues wide,
[ bounded in by the ]Duchy of Limburg
The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an exclave of the neighbourin ...
(to the east), the Duchy of Luxemburg (fragmented, to the south and the west) and the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy
The Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, also Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, sometimes known with its German name Stablo, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Princely power was exercised by the Benedictine abbot of th ...
(fragmented, to the south and the northwest).[Arsène de Noüe, « Une promenade au pays de Franchimont », dans ''Bulletin de l'institut archéologique liégeois'', volume 8, 1866, p. 465.]
Modern
Today the castle is owned by the town of Theux and is open to the public. The artillery tower at the north-east corner contains a small exhibition and the ticket office.
See also
*List of castles in Belgium
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
Notes
References
* ''Franchimont, A guided tour'' - leaflet obtained at the castle
External links
Franchimont Castle official website (fr)
Franchimont Castle www.castles.nl
Castles in the Ardennes (Belgium)
Ruined castles in Belgium
Castles in Belgium
Castles in Liège Province
Theux
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