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Castle of Trazegnies

Trazegnies was a powerful and independent seigniory located at the borders of the Duchy of Brabant, County of Hainaut and Principality of Liege. Trazegnies was also the birthplace of one of the most famous Families of Europe : several lords of Trazegnies took part in crusades.One of them became High Constable of France under the reign of Louis IX, another one married by proxy of Emperor Charles Quint, princess Isabelle of Portugal.

Jean III became Knight of the Golden Fleece and some of them were granted high functions by the governors of the Netherlands.

The Family of Trazegnies possessed a castel which was worthy of the name. There are only Roman vaults left from the fortress built by Gilles the first, they are a rare testimony from the XIth century.

The fortified Castle was destroyed and burnt in 1554 by the troops of the King of France Henry II. The castle was rebuilt at the end of the XVIth century but the lower part of the small entry castle is a remmant from the XIIIth century. In the beginning of the XVIIth century Gillion-Othon of Trazegnies (picture) had a splendid main building erected which is the

jewel of the present castle and a single example in Belgium of the Louis XIII style architecture.

When the last marquis Alexandre died, his niece inherited the property which later was bought by a company of coal-scuttle which parcelled out it before selling it to private individuals who,left it finally to the State in 1913 .

In 1926 , the castle, given up, fell in ruins and one spoke to shave it after having photographed it. Then, at the instigation of the architect Marcel Simon, the Society of "The Friend of the Trazegnies castle" was created. Its aim was the restoration, the preservation, the upkeep and the developing of the monument and its park.

At this point in time constituted itself at the instigation of the architect Marcel Simon, association “the Friends of the Castle of Trazegnies” having for goal the restoration, the conservation, maintenance and the development of the monument, its dependences, its park and its site. A gigantic work of consolidation and installation was undertaken at once and the most urgent restorations were carried out. It is only after the Second World War that the main building Louis XIII was restored and that the only tower of angle of XVIème century which still remained, was rectified.

In 1972, charming it "châtelet of entry" which threatened to collapse was restored perfectly. The vault was also restored as well as the library and two rooms; in one, one will admire a pretty pier of the XVIIIème century and in the other, a blue stone chimney Renaissance style of the beginning of the XVIIème century.

An excavation campaign financed by the Walloon Community in 1997-1998 and 2000 allowed the searchers to locate the ditch of defense which was running along the medieval wall and to rediscover corner buildings and defensive works thanks to th presence of an escarp.

In 2002, 2003 and 2004, important work of restoration and consolidation of the small entry castle and wing East were carried out; the aim was rehabilitating the monument to give it a cultural vocation on the scale of the area. Two new modern rooms and the small castle room open as high as the roof level are used for exhibitions and cultural events.

If all the antique structures were restored in the respect of their authenticity and their integrity, the new elements of replacement or additions were treated according to a drawing and a concept of today.

The new complete installation of the park carried out in 2004-2005 gives him a gloss which it had lost since XIXthe century. The vestiges of the excavations were traced on the ground; a footpath of dolomite follows the tracing of the dry ditch that used to surround the castle and the primitive wall from the XIIIthe century is announced by a hedge of beeches. An almost three centuries old plane tree, classified "remarkable tree" of Belgium, dominates the main courtyard.

 

The actual society aims at giving life to the castle by organizing cultural events: exhibitions, concerts, theatre, market of Christmas, Market of the book and paper, guided visits,…

The drawing-rooms are ornamented by Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture and a porcelain collection of Tournai, silverwares, Chinawares. We lay out of a single museum in Belgium “Life and Work of our Ancestors ”: under the beautiful XVIth century timber. It is composed of an important and remarkable collection of 3.000 tools and objects from the end of the XIXth century, and beginning of XXth century evoking 40 artisanal trades/crafts.

In the new rooms, we expose paintings of famous artists like
- Jean Ransy, the art of symbolism
- Albert Mascaux, the impressionist school
- Romeo Dumoulin, observer of the popular lifestyle
In the small castle, we present paintings and sculptures of Charles Delporte, the visionary, who exhibits his works in the whole world.

We organize thematic exhibitions every year; we already presented:
- “Henri Beyaert, architect”
- “the Golden Fleece, princely network”
- “Tapestry of Bayeux”
- “Life and Work on the waterways in the past century”
- “The old Tools of Wallony”
- “The Simon from Trazegnies, three generations of architects”
- “Lords of Trazegnies, history of a free estate ”
- “Refinery and Cruelty -Weapons from Asia”
- “Memories of the war 14-18”
- Evocation of the museum “Life and Work of our Ancestors- clock industry and Musical instruments”
- Postcards of Trazegnies: “Trazegnies, walk in the past…”

The guided visits of the castle take place during the whole season, i.e., from May 1 until September 30th from 2.30 p.m. until 5.30 p.m., every saturdays, sundays and public holidays. You will discover the castel, its many showrooms, its Gothic and Romance cellars, its prestigious rooms and its splendid park in the compagny of our guides.

The educational Service of the castle organizes didactic visits followed by teaching workshops for the primary schools and maternal.The visit-workshops last 2h on go. The professors have the choice between various workshops.

For your banquets, receptions, seminars, etc… you can rent our rooms.

The Castle of Trazegnies remains there, upright, in spite of all the damage of time, as a witness of a famous past and faithful to its motto “TAN QUE VIVE" (" Which Lives").

 

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