Castle of Mirwart

The castle of Mirwart is situated in the province of Luxembourg in Wallonia, Belgium. It is built on a rock rising above the "Vallée de la l'Homme". 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 from the region, such as the Lords of Bouillon and Orchimont.

The Lords of Mirwart came into conflict with the monks of the powerful Abbey of Saint-Hubert. The latter were 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 at Mirwart. This act however wasn't approved by the Prince-Bishop. After he regained control over the feoff, Prince-Bishop Otbert ordered the reconstruction of the fortified castle and entrusted it to Bavon de Waha in 1099.

In 1293, against the wish of the Prince-Bishop, the feoff was acquired by Jean d'Avesnes. This resulted in a conflict between the prince-bishop of Liège and the new vassal who sought for support with the Counts of Hainault, Luxembourg, Namur, Looz and even the Dukes of Brabant. Control of the castle changed regularly and was finally held by Prince-Bishop Adolphe II de la Marck.

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 and that 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". 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 the castle was renovated by Alphonse Balat, architect to King Leopold II of Belgium.

After World War II the castle was acquired by the province of Luxembourg. The building was renovated but the province failed to find a use for the castle. 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

*Château de Mirwart on Wikipedia in French.