Arenberg Castle (Leuven)
| Heverlee Castle | ||
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 South facade of the castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Arenberg Kasteel | |
| Creation time : | 1519 | |
| Place: | Heverlee | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 51 '48 " N , 4 ° 40' 59" E | |
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Arenberg Castle ( Dutch Arenbergkasteel or kasteel van Arenberg ) is a castle in Heverlee , a sub-municipality of the Belgian city of Leuven . The current building dates from the 16th century, but was structurally changed in the centuries that followed. The architecture is largely traditional Flemish with a combination of brick and sandstone window frames . In addition, elements of the late Gothic , Renaissance and Neo-Gothic can be found on the building . The two mighty corner towers, each with a German eagle, are characteristic . Today the castle is owned by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and is the main building of the Faculty of Engineering .
history
The castle of the Lords of Heverlee has stood on the site of today's castle since the 12th century . This family became impoverished over the following centuries, so in 1445 they were forced to sell the property. As a result, the estate came to the Van Croÿ family in Picardy . Under Guillaume II. De Croÿ , the medieval castle was partially replaced by the current castle. He also donated the Celestine - Monastery on the castle grounds (today campus library). After the last Duke Charles III. de Croÿ had died in 1612 without heirs, the castle passed to the Arenberg family through the wedding of his sister . They lived in the castle until the First World War . Even before the war, the then Duke wanted to transfer ownership of the castle to the university and sell the surrounding park to them for a reasonable price. However, after the outbreak of war, the Belgian state confiscated the palace, and so it was not until 1921 before the university was able to acquire the palace and park. The site was expanded into a campus for natural and engineering sciences in the style of an American university campus.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Arenbergkasteel , onroerenderfgoed.be