Cartier Castle (, ) is a

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

Marchienne-au-Pont Marchienne-au-Pont (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a commune in its own right before the merger of communes in 1977, when it had a p ...

, a district of

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

, in the province of Hainaut,

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 ...

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 ...

History

Origins of the château can be traced back to the 17th century, around 1635, when the ''Honoré'' family builds a castle on the

Sambre The Sambre () is a river in northern France and in Wallonia, Belgium. It is a left-bank tributary of the Meuse, which it joins in the Wallonian capital Namur. The source of the Sambre is near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, in the Aisne department. ...

river bank. The place had formerly been occupied by a seigneurial manor which was destroyed on 21 July 1554. In 1667, the unfinished

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

fortress of Charleroy is captured by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

's troops during the

War of Devolution The War of Devolution took place from May 1667 to May 1668. In the course of the war, Kingdom of France, France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and County of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire ...

. As the castle in Marchienne was located in neutral territory (under authority of the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as ...

), it was used as a hospital for both French and Spanish soldiers. In 1695, the castle is bought by ''Guillaume de Bilquin'', a wealthy

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

owner, who completes and enhances it. In 1717, his daughter, ''Marie-Agnès Bilquin'', marries ''Jean-Louis Cartier'', son of the general treasurer of the

prince-bishop of Liège A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the B ...

. As such, the castle becomes the property of the ''Cartier de Marchienne'' family. In 1740, the castle hosts ''Remacle Le Loup'', a famous

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

from the

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 ...

region. It is severely damaged by a fire in 1932, and bought over by the municipality of Marchienne-au-Pont in 1938, ending more than two centuries of ownership by the ''Cartier'' family.

Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar (, ; ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 190317 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and ...

, a French novelist and essayist, and the first woman elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, is the daughter of ''Fernande de Cartier de Marchienne'', from the ''Cartier'' family related to the Cartier castle. She visited the castle in Marchienne-au-Pont in 1956, and mentions her ''Cartier de Marchienne'' ancestry and the castle in her 1974 memoir ''Dear Departed: A Memoir'' (). The Cartier castle was listed on 21 August 1980. It underwent restoration in phases between 1986 and 2001 (helped by ERDF), after having been left in a sorry condition (infested by

dry rot Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of wood which give it strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resulted in a ...

Current condition

Marchienne-au-Pont JPG01.jpg, Southern part of the courtyard seen from the porch, with the ''Our Lady of Mercy'' church in the background, and the '' De Cartier'' metro station entrance on the right. Marchienne-au-Pont - Château Bilquin-de Cartier - 33 - façade nord.jpg, The castle seen from the Samber. Remacle Le Loup - Vue du Château de Marcienne au Pont à la Sambre - 1740.jpg, The castle in 1740 by Remacle Le Loup. Château Bilquin-de Cartier from the North bank of the Sambre river (DSCF7729).jpg, Grain elevator on the Sambre embankment. The castle today hosts a public library on the ground floor (''Bibliothèque Marguerite Yourcenar''), and administrative services of the

Walloon region Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three regions of Belgium—along with Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily French-speaking. It accounts for 55% o ...

on the first floor. The library has a section dedicated to books in

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

. The courtyard is equipped with benches and is publicly accessible as part of the Marchienne-au-Pont municipal park. The castle wing which was located on the southern side of the courtyard has been demolished to create an entrance for the De Cartier station of the

Charleroi metro Charleroi (, , ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Hainaut (province), Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wa ...

. At the tip of the western wing, a stone porch is adorned with the arms of the ''Bilquin-Baillencourt'' family, and a ''1699'' date inscription. Similarly, the

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

above the northern wing door shows a scalloped key with the arms of the ''Cartier'' family. Other demolished features include a barnyard where the Marchienne-au-Pont municipal swimming pool now stands. A 19th century

grain elevator A grain elevator or grain terminal is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lowe ...

neo-renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

style can be seen on the

embankment.

Beijing replica

Emile de Cartier de Marchienne Baron Émile-Ernest de Cartier de Marchienne (30 November 1871 – 10 May 1946) was a Belgian diplomat who was ambassador to a number of countries, most principally the United States and the United Kingdom. Early life De Cartier de Marchienne wa ...

's uncle, who served as the Belgian ambassador in China at the start of the 20th century (1910-1917), ordered the construction of a Cartier castle replica, to serve as the Belgian

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

building in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Plans were drawn in Marchienne-au-Pont, and bricks, slates, tiles, panelling and other materials were transported from Belgium to China for the construction. The building, which is now the ''Zijin Guest House'',"Former Legation Quarters"
, ''Beijing tours'' still exists in the

Beijing Legation Quarter The Peking Legation Quarter was the area in Beijing (Peking), China where a number of foreign legations were located between 1861 and 1959. In the Chinese language, the area is known as ''Dong Jiaomin Xiang'' (), which is the name of the '' huton ...

, although the original entrance has disappeared
Photo
.

References

External links

*http://www.opt.be/informations/tourist_attractions_marchienne_au_pont__cartier_castle/en/V/34964.html *http://www.charleroi-decouverte.be/index.php?id=115
Chateau de Blinquin de Cartier, Castles in Hainault
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilquin de Cartier Castles in Belgium Castles in Hainaut (province) Chateau Bilquin de Cartier

History

Current condition

Beijing replica

See also

References

External links