Westmalle Castle ( nl, Kasteel Westmalle) is located in the village of

Westmalle Westmalle is a village in the Belgian province of Antwerp which is part of the municipality of Malle. History See history of Malle. Tourism Westmalle is primarily known for the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle of the Order of Cistercians of the Stric ...

, which is part of the municipality of

Malle Malle () is a municipality located in the Campine region of the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of Oostmalle and Westmalle. In 2021, Malle had a total population of 15,620. The total area is 51.99 km2. H ...

in the

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

region of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

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 ...

. Westmalle Castle is situated at an elevation of 29 meters.Elevationmap.net
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History

The origin of Westmalle Castle goes back to a large fortified farm, the ''Mansus de Trisco'' (Dutch: ''Hoeve Ten Driessche'') around 1100 and it stayed that way until 1449. The farm was the residence of the representatives of the

Dukes of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

. In 1449 the estate was sold by the Duke of Brabant to Henri van der Moelen, who was a member of the city council of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. In 1505, his son, the knight Hendrik van der Moelen, obtained all

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

rights from

Philip I of Castile Philip the Handsome, es, Felipe, french: Philippe, nl, Filips (22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular ruler, titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the fir ...

. His son Peter van der Moelen succeeded him and it was his grandson, Evrard de Cottereau, who obtained the estate in 1530. The estate passed to the De Cottereau family by marriage, and it was Evrard de Cottereau who built the present castle in 1561. In 1695 the last of the Cottereaus was deeply indebted to his creditor, Pierre Farisau, and later to his heir Filips Robijns. In 1702 the castle was claimed by the creditors, but the courts returned the property to lady Moytray, the widow of de Cottereau. In 1738, her brother inherited the castle and sold it to the heirs of Filips Robijns who sold it again to Jacques Benoit Pauwens (Powis) in 1743, whose family resided in the castle until 1847. In 1829, Baron de Norman restored the castle. His children sold it to the Bovie family from Antwerp. Between 1848 and 1874 the castle was owned by an Antwerp diamond-dealer, Lord Bovie. He altered and restored the castle, and a garden was created by the

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

Koelich. From 1874 until 1878, the castle belonged to Louis Geelhand. Baron de Turck de Kersbeeck bought it in 1878, restored the building and parts were rebuilt by the architect Schadde. Since 1914 the castle has been owned by the van der Straten Waillet family.

References

Sources

Malle history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westmalle Castle Castles in Belgium Castles in Antwerp Province Malle

History

See also

References

Sources