Bouchout Castle

Ruins of the Grimbergen Castle. At this site in Grimbergen, the noble medieval Berthout family owned a castle from which they ruled their territory. However, their disloyalty towards the Dukes of Leuven was finally severely punished by a complete destruction of their wooden castle (Grimbergen wars). In the 16th century, Berthout's descendants erected a novel Prince Castle which flourished for a number of centuries. It was destroyed at the end of World War II by retreating German troops. The Donjon tower was restored in 1992.

During the first part of the 12th century, the territory of Bouchout (alternative spelling Boechout and pronounced as Book-Howt), played an important role in the foundation of the Duchy of Brabant. This Brabant territory was strategically positioned between the County of Flandres and the rebellious knights of Grimbergen. In the centre, the original territory was swampy and mainly consisted of beech trees. It was called "Boc-holt", which may point towards the origin of the castle's name, Boekhout.

During this period, Godfrey I, Duke of Leuven settled peace with the Count of Flandres, so he could focus on establishing a stable Duchy. He experienced however that the Berthouts, lords of Grimbergen, were not loyal to him. The Berthout family owned a mighty castle at Grimbergen and thereby controlled the important trade routes from Bruges to Cologne (Germany). Despite a number attempts, Godfrey I and II did not succeed in defeating the Berthout family (Grimbergen Wars).

Godfrey III decided to build two fortifications in the direct vicinity of Berthout Castle. The first one, Nedelaar Castle, was constructed in 1148 directly at the other side of river Zenne. The second one, at the Bouchout Domain, was constructed by Wouter van Craaynem (Kraainem, Crainhem) who received the domain from Godfrey III. At that same period, in 1159, the Brabant troops assisted by Flanders, defeated the Berthout family after twenty years of Grimbergen wars. The once so mighty Berthout Castle was burnt completely.

It is not completely clear how Bouchout Castle looked like in the second half of the 12th century. According to Cantillon[1] the fortification was already a strong castle. However, Willem van Craaynem, who inherited the Bouchout domain from his father Wouter, only owned about 300 to 400 acres of land at about 1160–1170. As for many minor noblemen at that time, it is therefore also possible that "Bouchout Castle" was no more than a fortified house at the centre of the swampy Bouchout domain.

In spite of its French-like spelling, Bouchout, pronounced [buʃu] in French, is a Flemish name, which would be written Boekhout in modern script, and pronounced [bukhɔut]. It simply means "beech", boek or boekhout being a dialectal variant of the Dutch beuk.[2] This toponym is frequent in the Dutch-speaking area.[3]

The alternative etymology of boog-hout, meaning "keep your bow tensed", since the castle was positioned at a very strategic military location,[4][5] is not substantiated.

Daniel van Bouchout (Boechout and also Wanghe), the grandson of Willem van Craaynem, is one of the most famous members of the Bouchout family. He was the first one to use the name "Van Bouchout" and fought at the Battle of Worringen in 1288.[6] It was Daniel who played a major role in capturing Reinoud van Gelre resulting in a glorious victory for duke Jan I van Brabant.[7][8] Thereafter knight Daniel van Bouchout became one of the duke's advisors.

Several sources, including Doperé and Ubregts,[9] strongly suggest that it was knight Daniel who transformed the former fortified house into a mighty castle at about 1300. It included a large Donjon and five subsequent canals with an enormous drawbridge of 10 m (33 ft) in length. The Donjon tower is still preserved and is believed to be the oldest part of the current Bouchout Castle. This military Donjon has two levels and a platform. Each level has functional loopholes. The Neo-Gothic windows at level one most likely were made during the renovations of 1832, while the right-angled windows of level 2 are more original. The upper platform has battlements and merlons. At the court site, the coat of arms of the Bouchout family is visible (a red cross).

A second historical member of this family was knight Jan van Bouchout (c. 1320–1391), grandson of Daniel.[10][11]

In 1355, Duchess Johanna succeeded her father, Duke Jan III of Brabant. This succession led to a war with Flanders, since its Lord – Louis II, Count of Flanders – was married with Margaret, the second daughter of Duke Jan III. The Brabant forces were beaten in 1356 at Scheut and most likely also Bouchout Castle was taken. After peace was restored, Jan became commander of Brussels. He fought against the Lord of Gerle at the battle of Baesweiler in 1371, but the Brabant troops were defeated.

In 1386 however, he led a successful attack on the city of Grave at the river Meuse, thereby restoring his military distinction.[12] Jan married Joanna van Hellebeke, but the couple did not get any heirs. It is known, however, that Jan was the father of a large number of natural descendants, who are known as "the children of Bouchout".

At the end of the 14th century, the Bouchout family extended their properties which included Blaasvelt, Humbeek, van Loenhout and Diepensteyn Castle.[13] The direct family line became extinct however and the last representative, Margareta van Bouchout, married Everhard van der Marck in the middle of the 15th century. Thereafter, Bouchout Castle was owned by the Van der Marck family (1476–1537) and the Transylvan family (1537–1590). During this period Bouchout Castle fell into disrepair due to lack of maintenance. Moreover, the Spanish dominance of the Netherlands in the 16th century and the iconoclastic fury of 1566 further worsened its condition.

The illustration of Jan Baptist Gramaye in his work Gallo-Brabantia is the oldest known illustration and reveals Bouchout Castle in the first decade of the 17th century.[14] It was Christoffel d'Assonville (1528–1606) who bought the castle in 1590 from Joanna Transylvan and restored "Bocholdia Castrum" into its glorious medieval state.[15] Major restorations were carried out including the transformation of the five original canals into one surrounding pond. Note the very long drawbridge which is also described in the 14th century. It may however been drawn out of perspective, since the bridge appears to be about twice as long as the Donjon tower, which is about 20 meters high. The castle displays a rectangular structure with defensive towers at each corner including the Donjon which is still preserved today. The main building is at the back of the inner courtyard.

D'Assonville was one of the most loyal ministers during the Spanish period and he is believed to have been part of the assault on the Prince Wiliam of Orange in 1584.[16]

In 1605, the Bouchout Domain was raised into a Barony enabling Christoffel d'Assonville to become a member of the Council of Brabant.

In 1626, Peter Verbist produced a detailed copper etching of the Duchy of Brabant.[17] The Barony of Bouchout ("Bochout") can be found at a distance of about 7 miles to the north of Brussels (to the right at the map). This detailed map also displays Grimbergen (the former Berthout Castle) and Steinhussle, the territory of the related Diepensteyn Castle. The homeland of the founding fathers of Bouchout Castle is about 5 miles to the east of Brussels and includes the villages Crainhem, Sterbeeck and Nossegem.

Peter-Ferdinand Roose was born in Antwerp. He was the son of Jan-Karel Roose († 1641), the mayor of the city of Antwerp and Anna Fredericks van Bouckhorst, lady of Séclin.[18] After his parents died, Peter-Ferdinand became the foster son of his oncle Peter Roose who was an important advisor of Filips IV, King of Spain. In this period, the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands were at war with its suppressor Spain, which ended with a final separation at 1648 (Peace of Münster). During his career, Peter Roose had acquired a number of domains including Froidmont, Jemeppe, Han and Granvelle. Since he did not have any direct heirs, his family including his foster son Peter Ferdinand were well taken care of. Peter-Ferdinand became a lawyer and acquired Bouchout Castle in 1673 from Renom de France since he had many debts. In France, this was the period of the Renaissance during which Louis XIV of France created the Palace of Versailles.

Also Brussels developed into a fashionable capital where wigs and glamour for the happy few were common items. Peter-Ferdinand Roose transformed the medieval Castle into a Renaissance castle surrounded with French ornamental gardens.[19] Most likely, Bouchout Castle was decorated with a wealth of paintings, classy furniture and closets full with books. You may notice that the drawbridge in the etching of Jacobus Harrewijn is more in proportion as compared to the drawing of Jan Baptist Gramaye (1606).

In 1700, Peter-Ferdinand died without any heirs and he joined the ornamental family grave at the chapel of the St.Goedekerk (Brussels) besides his uncle Peter Roose.

During the French Revolution and the subsequent domination of the Southern Netherlands (1797–1830), Bouchout Castle was partly destroyed. The wooden bridge was dismantled and used to warm the French soldiers during the severe winter of 1795, while that part of the pond was filled up to facilitate the entrance to the castle.[20] Further, the complete enforcement at the front was destroyed and the castle was also looted by the soldiers. Clearly, Bouchout suffered a lot during the French dominance.

• List of castles in Belgium

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