The Castle de Renesse is a castle located in the village of

Oostmalle Oostmalle is a village which is located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The village itself is part of the municipality of Malle. Oostmalle was an independent municipality until 1976. It has a surface area of 28.27& ...

(

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. ...

), in the

Campine The Campine () or Kempen () 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 encompasses a large n ...

region of the province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

(

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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, la ...

, Belgium). It is currently owned by the municipality of Malle.

History

14th century

In 1374 Jan van Harduemont sold his domain in Oostmalle to Costijn van Berchem, a descendant of Arnoldus Berchthout, who lived near

1431–1464: Construction of the first castle by Willem van Berchem

Willem van Berchem, who himself lived at

Wommelgem Wommelgem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Wommelgem proper. In 2021, Wommelgem had a total population of 12,991. The total area is 13.01 km². Economy Wommelgem i ...

, built a castle at Oostmalle between 1431 and 1464. He was married to Mechtildis Cock van Werdenborgh. Nothing remains of this original castle, and the only remaining visible vestiges are the

donjon A keep 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 castles that were fortified residenc ...

which now is the articulation point of the castle and the so-called ''tournament beam'' which is now placed above the fireplace in the knight room. In 1459 his daughter Elisabeth married Wouter van Hamal, who thereby inherited the Oostmalle domain, and added vast property in present-day provinces of

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

and

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. On 30 November 1501, their daughter Anna van Hamal married Frederik

van Renesse The Van Renesse family is an old Dutch nobility, Dutch noble family and cadet branch of the :nl:Heren_van_Voorne, Van Voorne Family (in Dutch) that stems from the town of Renesse in Zeeland. History The eldest documented ancestor of the family ...

(b. 13 March 1470), descendant of a Diederick VI, 12th count of Holland and Sophie van Rheinick. He was Drossaard of Diest and Breda, Councilor of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

and

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

of the Netherlands,

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

and

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

. After his death in 1538, he was succeeded by his son Jan van Renesse who married Elisabeth van Nassau, an illegitimate daughter of

Henry III of Nassau-Breda Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (12 January 1483 – 14 September 1538), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau. He was born in Siegen, the son of Count John V of Nassau- ...

, who was an uncle of

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

1542: Devastation of the Castle

In 1542, William Duke of Guelder rose against

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

. His troops were led by

Maarten van Rossum Maarten van Rossum ( 1478 – June 7, 1555) was a military tactician of the duchy of Guelders who became field marshal in the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders. He was greatly feared outside his home country for the ruthless manner in wh ...

, notorious for his pillage of the

region. The village of Oostmalle and most of the castle were burned to ashes. Only the main tower of the castle and the church tower of Oostmalle remained intact.

1545–1548: a new castle is built by Jan VIII van Renesse

A new castle was built after the destruction of the original van Berchem castle. The remaining tower was incorporated in the horseshoe-shaped service buildings (''neerhof''), and a bridge connected the neerhof (E: lesser court) with the ''opperhof'' (E: main court). The main building of the castle was built as a square with four towers at each corner. The roof was covered with tiles and the towers with gold coloured slate. Some famous guests who stayed at the castle were emperor Charles V (1545, 1548),

Margaret of Parma Margaret (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Duchess of Parma from 1547 to 1586 as the wife of Duke Ottavio Farnese and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ch ...

(1561),

Lamoral, Count of Egmont Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (18 November 1522 – 5 June 1568) was a general and statesman in the Habsburg Netherlands, Spanish Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national up ...

and his wife,

William I of Orange-Nassau William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

, to name a few. On 28 July 1561, Frederik van Renesse succeeded his father as Lord of Oostmalle, he married Helena Torck. The struggle between the Protestant north of the Netherlands and the Spanish-controlled

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...

, left its marks on the region and Oostmalle suffered severely from the

Eighty Years War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exce ...

. The occupation of the castle during the Eighty Years War by soldiers (1538–1603) did no good to the state of the castle.

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, ) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke () or shortly 'Alva' in the Netherlands, was a Spaniards, Spanish noblema ...

even confiscated the property of Frederik van Renesse for a while. Willem van Renesse, married to Margaretha van der Aa van Renesse, son of Frederik, was the last occupant of the castle. After he died in 1630, the family moved to Elderen in Limburg. In 1700, Count Francis Hyacinthus van Renesse, allowed secretary Peter De Jonghe to live in the service building. Around 1730 Frans Lambrechts van Renesse married Carolina van Breidbach Burrescheim.

1790–1800: Decline and demolition

Over the years, the main building decayed slowly, because of a lack of funding for maintenance and repairs. In 1729, N. Spirlet became scout, stadtholder and steward of Oostmalle. Spirlet did his best to manage the property as well as possible, but eventually, without success. In 1793, the main building of the castle was demolished and between 1778 and 1830 the farm was also destroyed.

1830: The beginning of a new era

On 6 October 1830, Count Clement-Wenceslas de Renesse-Breidbach sold the castle and the domain to Viscount Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies, who had been commissioner-general of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, for the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

, and afterwards was appointed Minister of State by

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...

. Léonard du Bus de Gisignies renovated the old service building into a country house with large windows and redesigned the interiors in

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

. The neighbouring field was transformed into an English garden with distinctive trees such as sequoias. His grandson Bernard Daniel, son of the famous

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

Bernard du Bus de Gisignies Bernard Aimé Léonard du Bus de Gisignies (21 June 1808 in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode – 6 July 1874 in Bad Ems) was a Dutch nobleman and later on a Belgium, Belgian politician. He was a collector of arts, books, an ornithologist and paleontolog ...

, would live in the castle and become mayor

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

of Oostmalle. In 1896, Isabelle, the only daughter of Viscount Bernard Daniel du Bus de Gisignies (1832–1917), the oldest du Bus-heir, married Count Maximilian de Renesse-Breidbach. Shortly after the birth of their sixth child, Isabelle died. Maximilian then married Godelieve, the only daughter of Viscount Chretien du Bus de Gisignies (1845–1883), younger brother of Bernard Daniel, and together they had seven children.

1920: Twentieth century, redesign of the castle

After World War I, Maximilian started rebuilding the castle in Flemish Neo-renaissance style. However, construction was stopped after completion of the right-wing of the castle. The 16th century left-wing remained as it was, but was no longer used to live in. During both World War I and World War II, the German military occupied the castle. On 15 March 1941 a British bombardment destroyed part of the left wing of the castle. Towards the end of the war, in 1944, the castle was used by British and Canadian forces as a hospital. The tornado which devastated Oostmalle on 25 June 1967, spared the castle but the damage in the park remains visible until today. Count Thierry de Renesse-Breidbach, who had been mayor of Oostmalle since 1933, died on 24 October 1973. Ever since his marriage with Clara Van Gelder, he no longer lived at the castle and had been contemplating selling the castle to the village of Oostmalle. It took until after the union of

and

Westmalle Westmalle is a village in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp which is part of the municipality of Malle. History Tourism Westmalle is primarily known for the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle of the Order of Cistercians of t ...

in 1977, before the castle was acquired by

. On 16 May 1983 the castle and the domain were acquired by the municipality of

. Since 25 March 1985, the castle and its surroundings have been owned by ''Domein de Renesse'' a non-profit organization responsible for the administration of the castle, and is now being used as a museum, for cultural activities and concerts.

Sources

* Heemkundige Kring van Malle, Jaarboek – 1985, pp. 93–156
Domein De Renesse

External links

Kasteelconcerten Malle

{{Authority control Castles in Belgium Castles in Antwerp Province Museums in Antwerp Province Renesse family Malle