Heusden Castle is a historical site and castle in

Heusden Heusden () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands. It is located between the towns of Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch. The municipality of Heusden, including Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Doeveren, and Oudheusden, merged with ...

Destelbergen Destelbergen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Destelbergen proper and Heusden and was created on 1 January 1977, by the fusion of these two municipalities. Its western ...

, Belgium. The present structure was built in 1899 on the grounds of a former castle built in the 11th century. The above-ground parts of the old castle were demolished in the 18th century. The moat of the old castle still exists. In 1911, remains of what were probably

dungeons A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

were found, and parts of an older building near the moat were restored.

History

This important historical site was once the residence of the lords of Heusden (the chatelains and later viscounts of Ghent). Originally the castle had a square

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

and ring moat, of motte-and-bailey type, which rose until the early 11th century. The keep was the seat of the

lordship. Around the year 1200,

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

, dame of Heusden, married

Zeger III of Ghent Zeger III of Ghent (called The Good) was the lord of Heusden, of Bornhem, and of Saint-Jean Steen, and the Châtelain of Ghent. He was the second son of Zeger II, Lord of Ghent and Petronella of Coutrai. His older brother, Arnold, died before 11 ...

. Thanks to this marriage, the castle increased in importance and became the seat of the Viscounty of Ghent. Zeger added a second circular moated fortress. This formed with the other one an eight-shaped inner circular moat, surrounded by the rectangular outer moat. The lords of Heusden dwelt in the oldest, southwestern part, built up in the square. The northeastern part, build along the moat, had a monumental gate and a courtyard, and was probably destined to the army. The viscounts of Ghent left Heusden Castle in the 14th or 15th century. The seat of the feudal court was then moved to the aldermen's house in the square of Heusden. The castle's ruins were still present in 1725, but then the above-ground structure disappeared. The 8-shaped inner moat was restored in 1899. During this work new remains were excavated. The keep's foundations and traces of the

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

were uncovered. The remains of the castle were restored in 1911, and are visible alongside the bridge, over the southwestern moat. There are remains of wide brick walls, stone

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

, various arches (including over the moat), cornerstones and archstones. Further, the remains of what were probably dungeons were found.

19th-century castle

The new castle was built in the middle of the old 8-shaped castle. It is eclectic, with a hip roof and sober facade interrupted by arched openings. A square tower with spire stands built against the left side. Front and rear facade (dating to 1899) are in gable stone. The castle was restored in 1987.

References

{{reflist Castles in Belgium Castles in East Flanders Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Buildings and structures demolished in the 18th century Demolished buildings and structures in Belgium