Ouren Castle is a castle ruin in

Ouren Ouren is a village in Belgium with a population of 129 inhabitants. Ouren is a part of the municipality of Burg-Reuland and thus belongs to the German-speaking Community of Belgium. Geography Ouren is located at the Tripoint, border triangle of B ...

in the

East Cantons Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is common ...

of Belgium. It was the ancestral seat of the lineage of the free nobles of Ouren. Dating back to the 11th century, the site was originally a segmented, fortified castle fortress with a

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

, a

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Italian: ''torrione''; Castilian: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries an ...

and a chapel in the higher-located northern part of the castle hill. The

outer bailey An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary bui ...

with the service buildings were situated in the southern area. During the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

the castle gradually lost its fortified character in favour of the living comfort of its noble inhabitants. Between 1535 and 1615, periods of modification mark the changes to the residence of the nobility. A re-drawing in the lost watercolour by Joseph-Ernest Buschmann (1814-1853) from the mid-19th century shows the site as a – probably romanticized –

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 ...

castle. After its demolishment by French Revolutionary troops in 1794 the castle became uninhabitable and was nearly fully demolished after 1845.

Location and topography

The castle ruin is located in the southern part of East Belgium, close to the borders of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. The castle plateau is situated on a shale rock which is protruding by an off-set into the valley of the river

Our Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" Places * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France Other uses * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a governm ...

. To the North, West and East the castle hill is surrounded by the river Our. Through a slight depression in the South the access to the castle plateau is attained. Mostly timbered ridges of mountains of the East

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

are extending on both sides of the stream course on altitudes of approximately 400 to 539 meters above level

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

(m O.P.).

History

The exact moment of the foundation of the castle is unknown. The lineage of the noble free lords of Ouren is already documented from the 11th century. The castle as such is mentioned in a deed from the end of the 12th century (1190-1198) in which Henry of Sponheim enfeoffed his part of the castle from the archbishop of Treves John I. Armoiries de Malberg 2

After the extinction of the male hereditary line, the castle and the

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

became subject to the House of Malberg. During the last decade of the 14th century the castle was pledged to the archbishop of Treves, Werner of Falkenstein. In consequence, the castle was besieged in 1394 and occupied during a

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

between the archbishop and the Lords of Aremberg by Eberhard of the Mark and his son John. However, the soldiers of the archbishop succeeded in the reconquest of the castle only within the same year. Thus, the castle and the sovereignty of Ouren remained in the exclusive ownership of the House Malberg. Likewise, in 1517 the castle and sovereignty was separated between the Houses of Malberg and Giltingen by marriage. In 1614 the property was disputed as Gerhard of the Horst who was married to the daughter of Gerhard of Malbergs claimed the title. During the 17th century the castle and sovereignty got into the ownership of the Family of Ouren which referred to themselves as the Lords of Ouren, Tavigny, Limbach and Feilen. In 1680 their son John Francis Ignaz of Ouren leased the castle and the sovereignty to Peter de la Branche. In 1690 the demise charter was renewed for several six years. By the marriage of Mary Sidonie of Ouren (*1643) with John Lambert of Dobbelstein the possessions were separated again. After the death of Veronica of Ouren, the widow of John Francis Ignaz of Ouren in 1733, the castle and sovereignty eventually became the property of the House Dobbelstein. The lineage became extinct by the death of Carl August of Dobbelstein. In the last instance, Ouren Castle was property of the Baron of Taverne. The demolishment of the castle was conducted in 1795 by French Revolutionary troops. In 1798 revolters entrenched themselves in the ruins during the Peasants War. Ouren Castle was auctioned twice in 1844 and 1845 and finally left abandoned. The only known depiction of Ouren Castle is a pen drawing according to a lost water colour by Joseph-Ernest Buschmann from the first half of the 19th century.

The castle ruin nowadays

Today the former castle is considered an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

. On the surface there are still remains of the foundations and parts of the former enclosing walls visible. Because of the scanty written sources, knowledge of the building history and historical development of the castle and the place is only attainable by archaeological methods. Since 2012 the Archaeological Department of the

German-speaking community of Belgium The German-speaking Community (, , DG), also known as East Belgium ( ), is one of the three Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, federal communities of Belgium. The community is composed of nine municipalities in Liège Province, ...

has been conducting excavations on the castle hill. Prior to that, the Société Archeologique du Sillon Mosan (S.O.S. fouilles) conducted its research on the subject in autumn 1988 and January 1989 which was only scanty documented.

Location and topography

History

The castle ruin nowadays

Further reading