The Château Charles was a neoclassical palace in

Tervuren Tervuren (; ) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren proper, Vossem and Moorsel. On 1 January 2006, Tervuren had a total population o ...

, Belgium, just outside

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. It was intended as summer retreat for

Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine Prince Charles Alexander Emanuel of Lorraine (; ; 12 December 1712 in Lunéville – 4 July 1780 in Tervuren) was a Duchy of Lorraine, Lorraine-born Habsburg monarchy, Austrian general and soldier, field marshal of the Imperial Army of the Holy ...

, governor of the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

. However, it was soon demolished and nothing remains.

History

Tervuren was one of the main summer retreats 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 L ...

and their successors, the Burgundian dukes and the governors of the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

. They primarily used

Tervuren Castle Tervuren Castle (; ) was a moated castle constructed by the dukes of Brabant, which later became a royal residence and hunting lodge for the governors of the Habsburg Netherlands. It was located in Tervuren, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It ...

as a basis to hunt in the surrounding

Sonian Forest The Sonian Forest or Sonian Wood (, ; , ) is a forest at the south-eastern edge of Brussels, Belgium. It is connected to the Bois de la Cambre, Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos, an urban public park which enters the city up to from the Pentag ...

. Although the castle was medieval in origin, it was modernized and redesigned over time up to the 18th century. However, as the moated palace became too damp, governor Charles of Lorraine decided to construct a new palace, the Château Charles. He commissioned the architect

Laurent-Benoît Dewez Laurent-Benoît Dewez (14 April 1731 – 1 November 1812) was a Belgians, Belgian architect of Walloons, Walloon origin. He is considered the most influential architect in the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium) from the second half of t ...

to design the new summer lodge. When Dewez fell out of favour,

Louis Montoyer Louis Montoyer (1747, Mariemont, Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium – 5 June 1811, Vienna) was an 18th-century architect, principally active in Brussels and Vienna. Life He worked in Brussels as an architect and building contractor from 177 ...

and

Antoine Payen the Elder Antoine Payen the Elder (1748–1798) was an architect and army engineers officer who designed several châteaux and villas in what were then the Austrian Netherlands. His best known work is the Belvédère Castle. But he was also involved in the ...

completed the palace. Construction started in 1778. The main building was already completed in 1779, and furnishing followed soon. With large festivities, the palace was put into use on 1 September 1779. It was barely finished when Charles of Lorraine died in 1780. His nephew,

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...

first intended to sell the country house, but ultimately decided to demolish both the Château Charles and Tervuren Castle in order to recycle the building materials to pay off the debts left by Charles of Lorraine. Charles' successors as governors, Archduchess

Maria Christina of Austria Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria (; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was Queen of Spain as the second wife of Alfonso XII. She was queen regent during the vacancy of the throne between her husband's death in No ...

and her husband

Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (11 July 1738 – 10 February 1822) was a Saxon prince from the House of Wettin who married into the Habsburg imperial family. He was noted as an art collector and founded the Albertina in Vien ...

, commissioned a new palace in

Laeken (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...

, which was constructed between 1782 and 1784. Nowadays, nothing remains of the Château Charles. The plans made by Dewez can be found back in the

National Archives of Belgium The National Archives of Belgium (; ; ; all ) is the main depository of the State Archives (Belgium), State Archives of Belgium (''Archives de l'État''; ''Rijksarchief''). It is located on the /, next to the Mont des Arts, Mont des Arts/Kunstberg ...

. In addition, the

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

of France have a plan and drawings of what the palace looked like.

Olivier Le May Olivier Le May (26 May 1734 - 1797) was a French painter and engraver. Life He was born in the parish of Saint-Nicolas in Valenciennes and trained at the Académie de Valenciennes. Around 1754, he left his home town for Paris. He was a friend of ...

made two

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

s of the château, which are now in a private collection. Image: Château Charles en Tervuren - Gouache Entrée - Olivier Le May - Collection Particulier.jpg, The front of the Château Charles around 1780 by

Image: Château Charles en Tervuren - Gouache Jardins - Olivier Le May - Collection Particulier.jpg, The garden side of the Château Charles around 1780 by Le May Image: Château Charles en Tervuren - Ferraris kaart 1778.jpg, Section of the

Ferraris map The Ferraris map or map of the Austrian Netherlands is a historical map created between 1770 and 1778 by Count Joseph de Ferraris and includes 275 sheets published at the original scale of 1/11.5. The map was made in response to a request by ...

of 1778 showing the Château Charles on the left and

and park on the right

References

Literature

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History

References

Literature

See also