Castle of Wijnendale

The Castle of Wijnendale is a historically important castle near Wijnendale in West Flanders, Belgium.

The present castle is largely a 19th-century reconstruction, but a part of the north-wing is still 15th century. One wing is inhabited by the present owners, another wing is a museum, open to the public.

History

Counts of Flanders and Namur, 11th -14th century

The first castle was built by Robert I, Count of Flanders, at the end of the 11th century and used as a base for military operations.

In the 12th and 13th century, Wijnendale became a regular place of residence for the Counts of Flanders and for Philip, Count of Flanders in particular. In 1297 Guy of Dampierre signed a treaty here with the English King Edward I.
In 1298 Wijnendale was inherited by the Counts of Namur and besieged and damaged in 1302 and 1325. It is probable that Blanka of Namur grew up here and met her future husband Magnus IV of Sweden in 1334.

Dukes of Burgundy, Cleves and Ravenstein, 15th-16th century

After a periode of neglect, Count John III of Namur sold the Fiefdom and castle in 1407 to John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, who gave it 3 years later to his son-in-law Adolph I, Duke of Cleves as part of the dowry.
In 1463 the castle went to the Lords of Ravenstein, a junior branch of the House of Cleves.Adolf van Cleves and his son Philip of Cleves transformed the castle to a beautiful mansion.Adolf had married a natural aunt and governess of Mary of Burgundy, who lived from time to time at Wijnendale, as did her son Philip I of Castile.

In 1482 Mary of Burgundy made a deadly fall from her horse at Wijnendaele. This accident changed the history of the Netherlands. With her authoritarian husband Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, a period of more than 300 years of Habsburg rule began.

In 1528 Wijnendale returned to the main branch of the Duchy of Cleves.Their relatives Charles V and Mary of Habsburg stayed more than once at the castle.

In the second half of the 16th century, the Dukes lost interest in their Flemish possessions and in 1578 part of the castle was burned down by Protestants.

Dukes of Paltz-Neuburg, 17th-18th century

In 1609 Duke John William of Cleves died without children and after the Jülich-Cleves War in the Treaty of Xanten, the Fiefdom of Wijnendale went to one of the victors , Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, which was confirmed in 1634 by the Secret Council in Brussels and by the Treaty of Cleves in 1666.

During the many attacks by Louis XIV on Flanders, Wijnendale was occupied many times by passing troops and severely damaged in 1690, when French troops blew up part of the castle. In 1699-1700 Duke Johann Wilhelm had the castle rebuilt.

On September 28 1708, during the War of Spanish Succession, a battle took place between French and allied troops at Wijnendale which ended in an allied victory. The castle wasn't damaged.

In the 17th and 18th century the castle was inhabited by a governor, as the Dukes of Pfalz-Neuburg resided in Germany. In the middle of the 18th century, Duke Charles Theodore constructed roads in West Flandres to improve trade, with Wijnendale in the center.

French and Dutch period

In 1792 the French revolutionaries invaded the Austrian Netherlands and ended the feudal system. Charles Theodore moved the content of the castle to his residences in Düsseldorf, Mannheim and München. The castle became property of the French state. In 1811 the castle was so badly damaged by French troops that only ruins remained.

In 1825, during the Dutch period the domain was sold to a Walloon industrial group, which had all the trees cut down, before going bancrupt.

Family Matthieu (de Wynendaele), 19th-21th century

In 1833 the domain was bought by a banker from Brussels, Josse-Pierre Matthieu, who had the castle rebuild between 1837 and 1852.
His son Joseph Louis Matthieu modified the castle in 1877 and gave it its present romanticized, mediaeval form.

In May 1940 Wijnendale made history again. On may 25, just before the Battle of Dunkirk, there was a last meeting between King Leopold III of Belgium and four cabinet ministers (Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot, Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul-Henri Spaak, Minister of Internal Affairs Arthur Vanderpoorten and Minister of Defence Denis).
Surrounded by Nazi-troops, capitulation was inevitable. But the King refused to follow his ministers to Britain to continue the struggle from there. He chose as commander-in-chief to remain with his troops and follow them into captivity.
This led to strong controversy after he war, and Leopold's abdication in 1951.

The Matthieu family (since 1953 "Matthieu de Wynendaele") still owns the castle today. The present owner is Jean-Jacques Matthieu de Wynendaele.

Externe links

* [http://www.torhout.be/toerisme/wijnendale.asp Website by the city of Torhout]