Front facade The Château of Modave (, ), also known as the Château des Comtes de Marchin (, ''Château of the Counts of Marchin'') 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 ...

near the village of

Modave Modave (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Modave had a total population of 3,722. The total area is 40.37 km2 which gives a population density of 92 inhabitants per km2. The ...

Liège Province Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Dutch province of Limburg, the ...

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

The oldest part of the building, 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 ...

, was built on a strategic rock high above the valley of the river

Hoyoux The Hoyoux () is a river of Belgium, a right tributary of the Meuse. It flows for through the province of Liège in the northern-central part of the country. It flows into the Meuse in Huy Huy ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Walloni ...

. The oldest parts still visible today date probably from the 13th century and were erected by the lords of Modave. In the 16th century the castle and the estate of Modave became the property of the Haultepenne and de Saint-Fontaine families. In the next century Jean-Gaspard-Ferdinand de Marchin (1601–1673), a great military commander, acquired the castle and turned it from a medieval fortress into a luxury

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

residence. His son Ferdinand de Marsin neglected the property and lived in France. Later owners were successively: * Maximilian Henry of Bavaria,

Elector of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Colog ...

and

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 ...

(1682–1684); * Cardinal Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg, and his heirs (1684–1706); * Baron Arnold de Ville (1706–1772); and * Anne-Léon,

Duke of Montmorency Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris. History The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Montmorency, Constable of ...

, and his heirs (1772–1817). In the 19th century it was owned by the non-noble families of Lamarche, Braconier and Van Hoegaerden. Finally, the ''Compagnie Intercommunale Bruxelloise des Eaux'' ("Brussels Intercommunal Water Company") bought the property in March 1941, in order to protect the important water catchments in the park. The company still owns the château today and has been restoring it with great care. It is open for visitors from April until October and it is also used as a prestigious venue for concerts and receptions.

Architecture

The ancient fortified castle was rebuilt from 1659 to 1667 in a manner showing a remarkable affinity to the most modern ideas of European

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

building of the time. It is particularly close to the buildings of

François Mansart François Mansart (; 23 January 1598 – 23 September 1666) was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into the Baroque architecture of France. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' identifies him as the most accomplished of 17th-c ...

. The dignified symmetry with a triangular

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

accenting the main frontage, the geometrical articulation of the wall, the

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

s, and the spatial contrast between the

corps de logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal or main block, or central building of a mansion, country or manor house, castle, or palace. It contains the rooms of principal business, the state apartments and the ceremonial or formal ...

and the side wings have much in common with Mansart's country houses, such as the

Château de Maisons The Château de Maisons (now Château de Maisons-Laffitte ), designed by François Mansart from 1630 to 1651, is a prime example of French Baroque architecture and a reference point in the history of French architecture. The château is located in ...

-Laffitte. Modave is the most prominent preserved example of High Baroque country-house architecture in the Southern Netherlands and 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 ...

. The château is unique for its splendidly preserved historic interiors and furniture dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ceilings date from the second half of the 17th century and were created by Jan-Christian Hansche.

External links

Site of the Walloon regional archives. Modave. Aerial view of the castle. Photographs from 1995

Modave Château official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau De Modave

Museums in Liège Province Wallonia's Major Heritage Historic house museums in Belgium

History

Architecture

See also

External links