Mirwart Castle is situated in Mirwart in Saint-Hubert

Saint-Hubert, Belgium

Saint-Hubert is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 111.16 km², had 5,737 inhabitants, giving a population density of 51.6 inhabitants per square kilometre....

, in the province of Luxembourg

Luxembourg (Belgium)

Luxembourg is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, France, and the Belgian provinces of Namur and Liège. Its capital is Arlon, in the south-east of the province.It has an area of 4,443 km², making it the largest Belgian province...

, Wallonia, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

The castle is built on a rock rising above the "Vallée de la Lomme". The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 11th century. It was a stronghold belonging to the duchy of Lorraine. The lords of Mirwart had many bloody conflicts with other feudal lords of the region, such as the lords of Bouillon

Bouillon

Bouillon is a municipality in Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Luxembourg Province.The municipality, which covers 149.09 km², had 5,477 inhabitants, giving a population density of 36.7 inhabitants per km².- History :...

 and Orchimont.

The lords of Mirwart came into conflict with the monks of the powerful Saint-Hubert Abbey, supported by the Prince-Bishop of Liège who wanted to extend his power in this region to the disadvantage of the Dukes of Lorraine.

In 1083, the abbot of Saint-Hubert commanded the destruction of the fortifications in Mirwart. This act, however, was not approved by the bishop. After he regained control over the fief, Bishop Otbert

Otbert of Liège

Otbert of Liège was bishop of Liège at the end of the eleventh century . He was a major figure in the financing of the First Crusade, and an expansionist....

 ordered the reconstruction of the castle, which he granted to Bavon de Waha in 1099.

In 1293, against the wish of the bishop, the castle and its estates was acquired by Jean d'Avesnes. This resulted in a conflict between the Prince-Bishop of Liège and the new vassal who sought support from the Counts of Hainaut

Counts of Hainaut

The counts of Hainaut were the rulers of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries .-House of Reginar:...

, Luxembourg, Namur

Counts of Namur

The following is a list of Counts or Margraves of Namur.Namur was not often an independent state, rather under the dominion of other entities like the counties of Hainaut and Flanders or the Duchy of Burgundy....

 and Loon, and even from the Dukes of Brabant. Control of the castle changed regularly until it was finally held by Prince-Bishop Adolph II von der Mark.

During the numerous conflicts between Spain, Austria and France in the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle was damaged several times. It was only at the beginning of the 18th century that a long undisturbed period began when extensive renovations and embellishments could be undertaken. During this process the castle gradually lost its strongly fortified character.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the castle was acquired by Aimé-Gabriel d'Artigues, the founder of the famous "Cristallerie de Vonêche", or Vonêche glassworks. Successive proprietors—the families Van der Linden d'Hoogvorst, d'Arrigade and von der Becke—further embellished the castle and turned it into a beautiful country residence. In the middle of the 19th century it was renovated by Alphonse Balat

Alphonse Balat

Alphonse Hubert François Balat was a Belgian architect.He studied at the Academie of Namur and obtained his degree in architecture from the Academy of Antwerp in 1838....

, architect to King Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II of Belgium

Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...

.

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

the castle was acquired by the province of Luxembourg. The building was renovated but the province failed to find a use for it. As a result, little by little, the castle was neglected and was subsequently looted by burglars who removed valuable furniture and decorative fittings from the interior.

Sources

• Weber, Jean-Pol (dir.), 1992: Mirwart. Château et Alentours. Saint-Hubert, a.s.b.l. Château de Mirwart (publication du Centre Pierre-Joseph Redouté, n^o 2)