Top 10 Castles around Perwez

The Abbey of La Ramée, located in Jauchelette (Geldenaken), was founded around 1215 by Héluide, abbess of Nijvel. The Cistercian nuns moved in 1216 to the banks of the Great Gete and came under the spiritual authority of the neighboring Abbey of Villers-la-Ville. In the 13th century, the community experienced a period of flourishing thanks to Cistercian mysticism and a highly regarded scriptorium. The abbey managed to acquire a large agricultural area and became very prosperous. However, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the monastery was repeatedly plundered due to wars, forcing the sisters to flee temporarily. In 1706, the English general Marlborough even set up a field hospital there during the Battle of Ramillies. After the French Revolution, the abbey was confiscated in 1796 and sold as national property. The monastic buildings were largely dismantled, but the farm and associated agricultural lands were spared. In 1722, the spectacular tithe barn was built, which is still considered the largest in Belgium today. In 1980, the complex was recognized as exceptional heritage of Wallonia. After a thorough restoration in the 90s, the domain serves as an exclusive venue for seminars and business events.

A beautiful driveway - with a fairly recent iron wayside cross at the beginning - takes you to this 'castle' that has a beautiful domain behind it with quite a few special trees and a large pond. The castle, as a plaque at the entrance says, was inhabited by a certain baron Jean-Pierre de Beaulieu, actually Jean-Pierre baron de Beaulieu-Marconnay in full and Johann Peter von Beaulieu in German. Why in German? Well, Jean-Pierre, J-P to his friends, was born in Lathuy in 1725. And that was part of the Austrian Netherlands at the time. And J-P became a general in the Austrian army where he fought against the Prussians during the Seven Years' War and against the French during the First Coalition War. In the battle against the French, led by a young man named Napoleon, Beaulieu became an artillery general and commander of the Austrian army in Italy. In 1796, however, he was replaced because he had not succeeded in stopping Bonaparte's troops. He died in 1819 in Linz, Austria, on his estate at the ripe old age of 94. So he did not stay here very often. But the domain is still worth it. The castle you see here is not the first one. The first was built around 1777 by the lord general and a second one was built in 1803. Only a few elements of the first castles remain due to destruction during the war. At the end of the 19th century, the castle came into the hands of the Pastur family. That is the same family that bought the castle in Jodoigne that later became known as Pastur Castle - see https://www.komoot.com/nl-nl/highlight/5965104 Finally: in Lathuy you can follow a 'de Beaulieu walk', information board near the church.

'Vicomté' stands for viscounty and 'La Vicomté' is sometimes also used as a nickname for Jodoigne. Viscounts of Jodoigne were originally noble titles that were awarded to members of the family de Glymes de Hollebecque, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. This title was often linked to the possession of the castle de la Vicomté. It is not so easy to see the structure and size of this castle by sight. When you come from the Gete you walk along a rising path with an old wall on the left and an old fence with an old gate and old stairs in the depths on the right. It seems as if all this merges seamlessly into the terrain behind the castle of Vicomté. The small tower in brick and Gobertange stone that Dominiek mentions is the first recognizable part of the domain when you walk to the main square. From the main square it is a lot easier: you recognize the house immediately. Photos of the various parts that make it up, with some history, can be found at https://www.destinationbw.be/nl/fiche/ontdekking-en-recreatie/het-kasteel-van-vicomte-jodoigne_TFOLOD-A0-007C-15NJ/ Also mention that on the Vicomté domain there are still remains of the ramparts that once stood around Jodoigne and that were first built in the thirteenth century. That rampart had several towers and gates. It enclosed the primitive castle that stood on the site of the current Château Pastur. Something more about the Counts of Glymes who stayed here in the 17th century: Jodoigne was then just going through a period of decline. The 17th century was called the century of adversity (and the 16th century was not much better). In the 17th century, the King of Spain transferred the Jodoigne estate to Philippe de Ligne, Duke of Aarschot and Arenberg. And a few years later, it was bought by Count Winant de Glymes. Winant de Glymes and his wife Michelle d'Yedeghem lived in this castle of Vicomté. A few dozen meters further on the market, in the chapelle Notre-Dame du Marché, is their tomb. The Glymes family had a strong bond with Jodoigne. Guillaume de Glymes, already lived in a country house in Jodoigne-Souveraine in the fourteenth century, the predecessor of the current castle there that was built by the half-brothers Antoine-Joseph de Glymes and Ernest-Joseph de Spangen.

The castle was owned by the Viscounts of Jodoigne and the Counts of Glymes in the 16th and 17th centuries. What remains of the old castle today is a beautiful and large building, recently renovated, whose facade in Gobertange stone gives an extra touch to the Grand’Place. The building continues along the rue de la Maladrerie and ends on a very beautiful turret or “gloriette” in brick and Gobertange stone. The castle is now private. (Experience Walloon Brabant)

Very beautiful castle

La Ramée Abbey, founded around 1215 by Héluide, is located in Walloon Brabant, at a bend in the Grande Gette River. It was almost entirely rebuilt in the 18th century. In 1796, the Revolution dispersed its community, leading to the abbey's sale in 1799. Today, La Ramée Abbey is used exclusively for hosting business seminars.

A large white villa behind a wall and gate has the appearance of a castle here...

If you are looking for a medieval castle that has retained its original architecture and charm, you should visit the Château de Corroy-le-Château in the province of Namur, Belgium. There you will find a magnificent fortress surrounded by a moat, with four towers, a drawbridge and a chapel. The castle was built in the 13th century by the counts of Vianden to defend the border of the Duchy of Brabant against the counts of Flanders and Namur. You will be able to admire the impressive collection of weapons, armor, tapestries and furniture that belonged to the noble families who owned the castle over the centuries. The castle is open to visitors from May to September, on Sundays and public holidays. Don't miss this opportunity to travel back in time and discover the history and culture of this remarkable place.