Top 11 Castles around Hotton

Durbuy is first mentioned in 1078 (as Dolbui) and in 1084 (under the current name). The first traces of habitation are found during excavations in the Anticlinaal cave by Count Pierre d'Ursel. The d'Ursel family still inhabits Durbuy Castle. Before the current castle, there were already others. Based on the archives of Luxembourg, a castle was destroyed and in the eleventh century, another was built by Henry II the Lame, who had received the domain from his mother Rageline, sister of Pope Stephen II, and her husband Albert II of Namur. Around 1156, that castle was severely damaged by flames and during the succession wars of the Duchy of Limburg, it was destroyed several more times. From 1412, Durbuy came into the hands of the House of Burgundy and at the end of the fifteenth century, the then-existing castle was destroyed by Maximilian of Austria, like all the castles of the la Marck family: besides Durbuy, these also include the castles of Logne and La Roche. In 1628, Baron Antoine Schetz of Grobendonck leased the Durbuy estate for 40,000 gold marks, a very considerable sum. Besides being a baron, he was also Count of Grobbendonk, Lord of Tilburg and Goirle, Pulle and Pulderbos, and Wezemaal. He was in the service of the Spanish and had led the defense of 's-Hertogenbosch during the Eighty Years' War. At the age of 71, he was also governor of the city of Leuven during the Siege of Leuven. And he was the first in a long line of the d'Ursel family who, to this day, inhabit the castle. In 1731, the castle was rebuilt by the then Duke of Ursel. Countess Auguste d'Ursel, who acquired the d'Ursel family's possessions in Durbuy, then modernized the castle from 1880 to 1882 with the help of architect Thirian from Namur. During the Second World War, the castle was occupied several times and in 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, it was used as a field hospital by the American liberators, with the billiard table serving as an operating table. Sources: historical overviews in Word documents on the website of Count Jean-Michel d'Ursel, current resident, at https://www.chateaudedurbuy.be/historique.html

Today, the castle is part of the Radhadesh estate, which also includes a more recent residential center and several even more recent agricultural buildings. Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen (Flanders Public Art Agency) calls it a spiritual community, where the new residents have thoroughly restored the castle and transformed it into a true spiritual oasis where you can explore the colorful culture of Indian traditions. Specifically, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (formerly the Hare Krishna movement) has a base and residential community there. There's also a vegan restaurant, a shop, a museum of sacred art (MOSA), and you can take a paid tour. The temple is accessible without payment. There's also a 2.8-kilometer "spiritual" walking trail. More at https://www.okv.be/museum/radhadesh-kasteel-van-petite-somme I'm not mentioning the domain's website because of a virus alert on my computer.

Built in 1888 and now in its neo-Gothic style, the castle served as a field hospital during the First World War, where the Jourda family cared for wounded and also sheltered local residents whose homes had been destroyed. During the Second World War, it housed American soldiers during the Rundstedt Offensive. From 1946 onwards, it became a holiday center, a school for people with intellectual disabilities, a youth hostel, a campsite, and a hotel-restaurant, all under the initiative of mayors Jean Andrieu of Herstal and Denis Deghaye of Oupeye. After the initiative's bankruptcy, a Brussels real estate agent, Serge Frankovich, bought the property in 1975, leaving it vacant for five years and plundering it. The Hare Krishna movement then purchased it and turned it into the Radhadesh estate. Sources: - https://www.castles.nl/petite-somme-castle - https://www.burchten-kastelen.be/provincies/luxemburg/002%20Kasteel%20van%20Petite%20Somme/Kasteel%20van%20Petite%20Somme.html - https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petite-Somme

Since 1980, the castle of Petite-Somme has housed a temple of the Hare Krishna movement, which today operates as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The dilapidated castle, of course, has a longer history. The current castle is also not the original and dates from 1888. The first mention of a castle on this site dates back to the eleventh century, when a certain Gozélonde Montaigu owned it. He was also the first Count of Montaigu. The County of Montaigu was quite influential for a time. It included the County of Duras in the Sint-Truiden region, the County of Clermont-sous-Huy, the Lordship of Jodoigne, and the village of Marcourt. The Counts of Montaigu were also vice-patrons of the Abbey of Sint-Truiden. Ecclesiastically, it belonged to the diocese of Liège. The castle was reportedly donated to the Abbey of Saint Hubert by the wife of Gozélon de Montaigu as penance for his husband's alleged plundering of the abbey's property. In the fourteenth century, a certain Jean de Bohême was said to have owned it, adding a tower to the castle, which became part of Luxembourg's defensive line. In 1461, the castle became the property of the de Hamal family, a Dutch-Belgian noble family that also appears in the histories of several Limburg villages and lordships (including 's Herenelderen, Grevenbroek, and the land of Vogelsanck). The de Hamal family held the lordship and castle of Petite Somme until 1774. Several noble families then succeeded one another. First came Albert Joseph de Favereau, born in 1750. De Favereau demolished the house that had served as the Hamal family's residence and built a brick manor house on its foundations. The new castle remained in the family's possession until 1877. Other sources claim that the demolition was carried out by the Count de Vaux, Aimable-Alexis de Jourda. What is certain is that the de Favereau family building was also demolished by a certain Louise Marie Eulalie, a relative of Baron Victor Albert de Favereau. And whatever the exact details are: it is certain that the current neo-Gothic castle stood there in 1888. Sources: - https://www.castles.nl/petite-somme-castle - https://www.burchten-kastelen.be/provincies/luxemburg/002%20Kasteel%20van%20Petite%20Somme/Kasteel%20van%20Petite%20Somme.html - https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petite-Somme

Located on the banks of the Ourthe River, the village of Durby is picturesque thanks to its rich history and remarkably well-preserved architecture. It is considered the smallest village in the world. The downside is that it attracts large crowds during the summer months.

the castle and its garden are magnificent. Equipped with a very beautiful architecture, as well as a beautiful panoramic view.

The Castle of the Counts of Ursel is located along the Ourthe, after the old bridge, at the entrance to the town. In the 11th century, Henri 1st of Namur, Count of Durbuy, had the fortress built. In 1756 the von Ursel family became the official owners of the castle.

In the 13th century, the estate was a simple fortified house surrounded by swamps. It is undoubtedly the strategic value of the place which also encouraged Lord Jean d'Ochain and his descendants to replace the fortified house with a powerful keep surrounded by a double row of moats fed by the Hedrea. In any case, the defensive system seems to have been effective since the Ochain family remained the owner of the castle until it was sold to Henri de Waha in 1621. During the 17th century, the keep gradually lost its defensive role. The various successive owners added buildings and transformed it into a castle. In the 19th century, during a more radical restoration campaign, the keep was covered with a roof; the castle does not lose too much of its feudal character. It was owned, between 1840 and 1978, by the Knights of Sauvage Vercour family.