The Castle of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne () is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

near

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

Province of Namur Namur (; ; ) is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the West) on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and the French department of Ardennes. Its ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In 1450, Jean II de Berlo commissioned the building of the castle. On 16 November 2002, famous tennis player

Justine Henin Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 117 weeks, i ...

married

Pierre-Yves Hardenne Pierre-Yves is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Pierre-Yves André (born 1974), retired French footballer *Pierre-Yves Barré (1749–1832), French vaudevillist and songwriter *Pierre-Yves Bény (born 1983), French gymnast *Pier ...

in this castle.

Origins

About a hundred meters from the castle passed a secondary Roman road. It came from Givet towards Ave-et-Auffe, passing through Lavaux. Nearby were the village of Genimont and the Roman fort of Eprave. In medieval times, the creation of the Principality of Liège made the region of Lavaux a border area with the Duchy of Luxembourg. This border is protected by the forts of Agimont, Revogne, Lavaux and Rochefort. The lords of the time are of the "Wellin" family. The first known mention of Lavaux dates from 1244.

The wars of the 15th century

Jean II de Berlo, lord of Lavaux, was the builder of the castle around 1450. In 1456, Louis of Bourbon, nephew of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, became prince-bishop of Liège. The animosity and distrust of the towns of Liège against the Duke of Burgundy grew and armed bands roamed the country which was no longer safe. Jean de Berlo, Lord Lavaux, who had initially accepted a treaty of neutrality with the town of Dinant (1462), chose to align himself with the prince in his fight against the rebels of the Liège region. Duke Philippe sent armed men to defend Lavaux. In 1463, he confronted Dinant and reinforced the castle of Lavaux with the latest military advances to resist any enemy attack. After fights that caused great destruction in the region, Jean de Berlo escaped to the court of Louis of Bourbon. In Famenne, disorder and insecurity grow. Erard de La Marck, enemy of the House of Burgundy, razes the lands of Jean de Berlo with the men-at-arms of Liège. In August 1468, the Duke of Burgundy proclaims himself Lord of Revogne and Dinant. The peace imposed by his son, Charles the Bold, establishes that no castles destroyed during the war in the territory of the principality could be rebuilt except those of the bishop's supporters, including those of Jean de Berlo. Hardly recovered from terrible fights with the house of Burgundy, the country of Liège suffers a civil war. William de la Marck, supported by the king of France, started in 1482 a war in which Jean de Berlo would meet his death near the source of Basse-Wez (Liège). At the end of the 15th century, the castle is no longer inhabited by its owners; only Berlo's widow, since 1482, ended her days in the half-ruined fortress.

References

External links

Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne website
Buildings and structures completed in 1450 Houses completed in the 15th century Wallonia's Major Heritage Historic house museums in Belgium Castles in Belgium Castles in Namur (province) Chateau de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Chateau de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Water castles {{Belgium-castle-stub

Origins

The wars of the 15th century

See also

References

External links