Historical

Corroy Castle is a lowland castle surrounded by moats fed by several springs. It is the most important and most complete surviving example of 13th-century architecture not only in Belgium but in the entire Low Countries, where it served as a vast residence and fortress for a territorial prince. It was mainly built of sandstone for the core of the walls and cladding, and of dolomite for the window frames and some facings (for example at the base of the towers and curtain walls). The castle was built in two phases: the first phase around 1247 saw the construction under Philip of Vianden and Marie of Brabant-Perwez of a powerful rectangular keep, probably surrounded by a palisade marking out an inner courtyard. This residential keep, or "great tower of Vianden", which was razed around 1730, was rediscovered during excavations carried out in 1974.

In a second phase, shortly after 1268, the date of the definitive purchase of the County of Namur by Guy de Dampierre, Count of Flanders, the Duke of Brabant must have forced the Viandens, his relatives and allies, to react by building a stone enclosure with multiple towers, facing the Namur castle of Golzinnes. The inspiration came from France, from Philip Augustus, uncle on both sides of Philip of Vianden, perhaps even from the Louvre. This second phase was very considerable and has been largely transmitted to us. The enclosure was probably completed before 1288. In that year, Godfrey of Vianden called himself Lord of Corroy (until then the lands did not constitute a lordship), granted a charter of freedom to the inhabitants of the village and exempted the canons of Floreffe from paying the gate duty of the castle.

The thick curtain walls carry a continuous patrol path, passing through the towers and crossing the gatehouse, the lodgings and even the gallery of the chapel. The parapet is formed of merlons between arrow slits, fitted with shutters in times of peace. In times of conflict, these mantlets were replaced by a wooden hoarding, the bolts of which are easily discernible.

Corroy has four vaulted corner towers, designated around 1500 in the archives according to the cardinal points; most of them flank the wall. These towers have remarkable two-meter-high arrow slits (enlarged and re-cut into gun embrasures in 1477) and a crenellated parapet like the curtain walls. The doors of the hoardings can serve as entrances to the wooden latrines.

The gatehouse (where the "Vianden Chamber" is located) is a true observation and command post. It consists of two semicircular and very military half-towers (or "turrets") (arrow slits, vaults, observation slit) enclosing a well-protected passage (drawbridge, portcullis, machicolation, two double-leaf doors). Over time, the gatehouse was modified, even doubled, and half detached from the castle; the current gatehouse, or more commonly the "barbican", restored in 1718, is already the fourth version. The original passage was also changed: its level was lowered considerably in the 15th century and a gallery overlooked it in the 16th century in order to directly connect the half-towers. In 1542 Martin van Rossem seized the castle after having bombarded it from the village, which had the effect of destroying entire sections of the gatehouse. The upper part was repaired and the bases of the towers and entrance walls were unfortunately buried in order to better protect these constructions from artillery. In doing so, the Lord of Corroy caused the castle to lose a third of its height and one of the most imposing aspects of the medieval fortress. Wilhelmine de Bronckhorst-Batenburg, widow of Alexis de Nassau, replaced the barbican in 1559-1560: two lion cubs bearing her arms and those of her husband bear witness to this. Most of this building was rebuilt in 1718.

But Corroy was also the home of princes linked to the House of Brabant: the Viandens and their bailiff occupied buildings attached to the curtain walls. It is true that they had sacrificed all the ground floors to the servants, whether it was the storage rooms under the great hall, the kitchens under the small hall, the lower level of the Chapel of Our Lady which was on the same level as the courtyard, the bakery, the kennel, the large and small stables. On the first floor, the masters reserved for themselves the "aula" or reception hall, the small intimate apartment between the north and west towers, as well as the gallery of the chapel. Corroy therefore visualizes the horizontal cleavage of medieval society. It should be added that Corroy had three wells, two in the courtyard and one under the kitchen. As early as the end of the 15th century, a dovecote was installed in the south tower: a not inconsiderable reserve of meat.

Wilhelmine de Bronckhorst-Batenburg, widow of Alexis de Nassau, replaced the barbican in 1559-1560: two lion cubs bearing her arms and those of her husband bear witness to this. Most of this building was rebuilt in 1718.

But Corroy was also the home of princes linked to the House of Brabant: the Viandens and their bailiff occupied buildings attached to the curtain walls. It is true that they had sacrificed all the ground floors to the servants, whether it was the storage rooms under the great hall, the kitchens under the small hall, the lower level of the Chapel of Our Lady which was on the same level as the courtyard, the bakery, the kennel, the large and small stables. On the first floor, the masters reserved for themselves the "aula" or reception hall, the small intimate apartment between the north and west towers, as well as the gallery of the chapel. Corroy therefore visualizes the horizontal cleavage of medieval society. It should be added that Corroy had three wells, two in the courtyard and one under the kitchen. As early as the end of the 15th century, a dovecote was installed in the south tower: a not inconsiderable reserve of meat.

Plundered twice by the French of Louis XIV, in 1690 and 1697, Corroy fell for a few years to the rank of a farm castle, at a time when the indebted Nassaus were occupied with other residences. Around 1730-1740, the Count of Corroy, having returned to better fortune, undertook considerable work on his old fortress, which eventually drained his resources but aimed to make it an astonishing pleasure residence. The central keep was demolished, as was the south-east curtain wall: the sun could now invade the courtyard and the vast apartments created to the north and north-east. In two architectural campaigns and using demolition materials, multiple and varied rooms were created. The ground floor spaces became ceremonial salons.

After a relative abandonment at the beginning of the 19th century, the castle was redecorated according to the fashions of the time: thus the marble dining room (1848), a masterpiece inspired by the Casa del Labrador in Aranjuez, is in the spirit of the 18th century while the grand hall and the chapel (1863) are inspired by the ambient neo-Gothic spirit of Pierrefonds that the Trazegnies, closely linked to the Tuileries court, must have visited. In a neighboring salon, magnificent ornamental paintings from the 1770s were installed after the destruction of the former Hôtel des Comtes de Villegas in Brussels. They have been admirably integrated into the building since the 1870s.

All the decoration was redone and jealously maintained from 1957 onwards. Everything was renewed from 2009 to 2024 and partially refurnished thanks to the furniture of the Royal Association of Historic Houses and loans of works of art from the collection of Chevalier Alexandre de Selliers de Moranville.

Around the building, the Counts of Nassau had created superb French gardens, with boxwood hedges, flowerbeds and a maze, whose charm and splendor are recalled in a land register from 1743.

HISTORY OF THE LORDS OF CORROY

At the end of this notice, the reader may consult a complete genealogical table of the various lords who have succeeded each other since 1095. This remarkable continuity makes Corroy one of the six or seven residences in Belgium that has been passed down by inheritance for nearly a millennium.

Originally, the marshes that lay to the south of the small hamlet of Corroy (Coryletum = hazel or coppice wood) could have inspired Celtic or even earlier cults. Roman tiles and a gold Nero have been found on the site of the castle, while the remains of a much older construction still exist below the present chapel. There is nothing to indicate that the site could have been used as a lord's dwelling before the 13th century.

We know, however, that the powerful Orbais family owned land in Corroy as early as 1095. Bernard, Lord of Orbais, married the daughter of one of the greatest barons in France, the Lord of Coucy, whose power rivaled that of the king himself. Was not the motto of this family: "Roi ne puis, prince ne daigne, je suis le sire de Coucy?" Their granddaughter married Guillaume de Brabant, born of the second marriage of Duke Godfrey III with Imagina of Looz. They thus founded the ephemeral branch of Brabant-Perwez.

The man was a half-brother of Duke Henry I the Warrior, that ambitious prince, always eager to increase his power at the expense of his neighbors, but who suffered the bitter defeat of Steppes (1213) against the Liégeois and who had to make his peace after 1214 with the victors of Bouvines. Both Godfrey III and Henry I were centralizing princes who fought to strengthen central power. From then on, the marriage of Godfrey of Brabant, Lord of Perwez, owner of Corroy, with Alice, Lady of Grimbergen, appeared as a triumph of ducal policy. These cadets of the Berthouts, Lords of Mechelen, had been the nightmare of Godfrey III, who fought against them from 1142 to 1159. The main heiress of Godfrey and Alice, Marie de Brabant, considerably enriched the heritage of her husband, Philip, Count of Vianden in Luxembourg.

The marriage took place in 1247 and changed the destiny of the small village of Corroy. Philip's father was Henry, Count of Vianden, and his mother, Margaret of Courtenay, eldest daughter of Peter of France-Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople, and Yolande of Hainaut. Between 1228 and 1237, the Viandens had tried to create an embryo of Lotharingia by seizing the County of Namur, which belonged to Margaret's younger brother, Emperor Baldwin II. The latter, having come of age, returned to the West and put an end to his sister's reign in Namur. After a few years of estrangement, he reconciled with her and even held out the prospect of his inheritance to the young Vianden in case his own son, Philip of Courtenay, should pass away. This is one of the reasons why Philip of Vianden wanted to settle in Corroy, not far from this County of Namur which polarized all his hopes. It is not for nothing that he dedicated the chapel to Our Lady, a distinction granted to the largest churches and cathedrals. His life (ein stürmisches Leben) was a perpetual struggle to seize this territory which symbolized his dreams of political unity and perhaps even empire.

An isolated tower was built shortly after his marriage. This keep, which survived until the 18th century, became the center of the large castle that Philip began around 1268 and which was completed by his son Godfrey. The definitive purchase of the County of Namur by the Dampierres of Flanders as well as the growing influence of the Count of Luxembourg (another claimant to the County of Namur) pushed the Viandens to move the center of gravity of their power to Brabant.

It is probable that John I of Brabant (who became Duke in 1267) helped his cousin to build in the strategic marshes of Corroy the most important fortress of his duchy, destined to padlock the south of his territory.

The last Vianden, Marie, married Simon, Count of Sponheim, in 1348. Their heiress daughter, Elisabeth, married Robert of Bavaria, known as Pipan, the eldest son of Count Palatine Robert III. From 1401 to 1410, Robert III was "King of the Romans" (in other words, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but uncrowned) under the name Robert I. In 1374, the lordship of Corroy was home to 47 adults capable of paying a golden sheep. The castle was already surrounded by a park in which beeches, chestnut trees, linden trees, walnut trees, pine trees, and acacias grew.

Having no children, Elisabeth bequeathed all her possessions in the Low Countries to her nephew, Engelbert, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, in 1417. This is how the castle of Corroy came into the possession of this great house of European history, whose name remains associated with the independence of the United Provinces, present-day Netherlands. Engelbert II, grandson of the previous, was one of the main supporters of his first cousin, the future Emperor Maximilian I, who, widowed from our duchess Marie of Burgundy, was struggling against his rebellious subjects. Several times throughout the 15th century, his court stayed for a few years at Corroy. At that time, the village contained a hospice (hospital) and a court of justice. From 1474, significant expenses were made at the castle, undoubtedly in anticipation of the wars to come. The bridge was partially rebuilt. Two stonemasons created gun ports, with cannon attachment troughs, in the entrance building. The inhabitants of the village were required to bring 13 carts of stone from Balâtre to make 850 cannonballs. Finally, famous armorers like Jan Hoet or Jan de Cupere from Mechelen supervised the expenses. The latter is mentioned for having delivered six large arquebuses to the castle. Could this Jan de Cupere be Jan van Malines, the founder of the famous cannon of Charles the Bold, which the Swiss seized at Grandson in 1476 and is now kept in the Basel Museum? In any case, the building was modernized and well stocked with pikes and axes from Antwerp, as well as projectile weapons and bolts ordered from Brussels.

For several years (from 1494 to 1540), Corroy was sold with a right of redemption (with the option to repurchase) to Philibert de Veyré, who governed Castile upon the death of Philip the Fair, and then to his heirs, the Vaudrey. In 1540, René de Nassau-Chalon, Prince of Orange, repurchased the castle to offer it to his half-brother Alexis. He was born from the love affair of their father, Henry II, then a very young man, with the daughter of the governor of Vianden, Elisabeth de Rosenbach. He was legitimized by Charles V in 1530 and thus received all the rights of a child "born of legitimate marriage".

Hardly in possession of the castle, Alexis de Nassau, who was staying in Breda with his brother the Prince of Orange, suffered a disaster. During the second war between Francis I and Charles V, in the context of the succession of Guelders, which involved Protestant German princes, the castle was besieged (1542) by the terrible Marshal of Guelders, Martin van Rossem, a soldier who declared: Fire is the Magnificat of war. The governor of the castle, Louis de Woelmont, had no choice but to retreat to Louvain with 16 men. As for the inhabitants of Corroy, who had thought to find refuge behind the walls of the fortress, they were offered safe conduct if they agreed to surrender the place. Hardly had they opened the gates than they were massacred. Only one man survived. The following year, the Prince of Orange granted his brother letters of exemption so that he could repopulate his domain by drawing from other villages in his possessions.

In 1554, the troops of the King of France, Henry II, repeated the joke and burned the gate of the castle. A contemporary could write: Everything was ruined in the French raid. Nevertheless, Alexis's wife, Wilhelmine de Bronckhorst-Batenburg, was wealthy and was able to restore the castle fairly quickly. The finances of the Nassau family were sufficient for René de Nassau to buy the lordship of Chênemont in 1565. His son, Alexis II, distinguished himself by his ability to lend money to all the local lords. A few years later, the passage of Louis XIV's troops caused great damage to the crops and the village, to the point that Catherine de Harchies, the wife of Maximilian de Nassau, could write in 1675: We are ruined here to the last extremity... only the castle and the church stand in the village... the people they put inside have gnawed us to the bone... If they torment me again, I will have to go begging because I have nothing left in the world... On July 2, 1690, the French pillaged the castle and the church for several days. Then there were military demonstrations of 2500 horses that destroyed all the crops. In 1692 and 1697, the village was once again ravaged: The greatest desolation in the world.

Despite these lamentations, the situation of the Nassau family of Corroy only improved. On February 3, 1693, the lordship was elevated to a county by Charles II of Spain. From 1718, and then between 1730 and 1740, Joseph-Ignace de Nassau, the first Count of Corroy, who had inherited from his mother, Catherine de Harchies, the counties of Hallennes, Erquinghem-le-Sec, and Zwevegem, was able to begin the major development works that gave the court its current appearance and allowed for a spacious, bright, and comfortable residence. This effort lasted for part of the century and was never really completed, to the point that the Nassau family more often lived in their townhouses and French castles.

THE LORDS, BARONS, and then MARQUESSES of TRAZEGNIES

The lineage of the Trazegnies has been traced since 1105. Its first representative, Otton de Blicquy, is mentioned in that year, but some researchers suggest - with a lot of caution and reservation - that the Blicquy family could be traced back to Engelbert, the advocatus of Ghent-Saint-Pierre around 950. The family later played a major role in the crusades. The most illustrious member of the medieval lineage is Gilles de Trazegnies, nicknamed "the Brun" because of the color of his hair, who served as constable of France under Saint-Louis from 1250 to 1276. It was his life as a good knight and valiant man (to use the expression of his brother-in-law, Jean de Joinville) that likely inspired the Legend of Gillion de Trazegnies, well-known in Hainaut and even in France and Germany in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Trazegnies was a small independent principality that was definitively annexed to the Austrian Netherlands only in the 18th century. By accepting the title of marquis granted by the Archdukes Albert and Isabelle in 1614, the Trazegnies implicitly recognized the suzerainty of the House of Austria. In the 19th century, Baron Kervyn de Lettenhove, the historian of Froissart, described the Trazegnies family as one of the most famous in Europe.

In 1414, Anne de Trazegnies, the last of the first lineage, married the most eligible bachelor in the principality of Liège, Arnould de Hamal, lord of Elderen (a handsome and gracious young man who is currently the richest bachelor to marry in our country). Their eldest son took on the name and estates of his mother, while the younger, Wautier de Hamal, was the ancestor of the counts of Hamal de Gomignies and the counts of Hamal de Vierves. The lineage of the Hamal family, a little less ancient, dates back to the end of the 12th century, but this second family remains the only lineage in the Netherlands that was (in the 14th century) the legitimate heir to a principality in our regions, namely the County of Looz, in the current province of Limburg.

In 1803, Gillion de Trazegnies, Marquis of Ittre, married Amélie de Nassau, Countess of Corroy.