Wemmel Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Wemmel, french: Château de Wemmel) is a former aristocratic estate in the centre of

Wemmel Wemmel (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality only comprises the town of Wemmel proper. On January 1, 2018, Wemmel had a total population of 16,347. The total area is 8.74 km² which gives ...

in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province of Flemish Brabant. It was formerly the property of the noble House of Taye.

History

The castle was originally built as a fortification. In 1649 Philip-Albert Taye, 1st Marquess of Wemmel had his property redesigned in

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

. Inside he decorated the rooms with his

heraldic crest A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to a lesser extent, battles, crests became solely pictorial after th ...

. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was the main residence of the

Marquess of Wemmel The Marquess of Wemmel was a Flemish title in use during the Ancien Régime, Wemmel is a city in Flanders. History The title was created in 1688 for Philip Taye, 1st Marquess of Wemmel captain in the Spanish army. Until 1688 he was Baron of Wemm ...

until Marie Josepha Taye, 6th

Marquess of Assche Marquess of Assche is a title belonging to the Belgian nobility, Assche is the old writing of the city of Asse. The Margraveships still stands today and belongs to the House ''van der Noot''. Today the current Marquess of Assche still resides in ...

and 3rd Marquess of Wemmel, married Jean-Antoine van der Noot. In 1838 the castle was sold to the mayor, Willem-Bernard Count of Limburg-Stirum. The

house of Limburg-Stirum The House of Limburg-Stirum (or Limburg-Styrum), which adopted its name in the 12th century from the immediate county of Limburg an der Lenne in what is now Germany, is one of the oldest families in Europe. It is the eldest and only surviving br ...

gave the estate to the local community.

Today

Today the estate is still the property of the municipality of Wemmel, and functions as town hall. The park is open to the public.

Books

* DELMELLE J., Wemmel et son Chateau in Brabant, n.p., 1962, p. 11-13. * DESSAER R., Geschiedenis van Wemmel, Anderlecht-Brussel, 1945, p. 71-78.

References

{{coord, 50.90727, 4.30347, format=dms, type:landmark_region:BE, display=title Castles in Flemish Brabant