Dongelberg Castle

Dongelberg Castle, locally known as Château de Dongelberg, lies in the village of the same name, in the province of Walloon Brabant in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

The first Lords of Dongelberg were mentioned in the early years of the 12th century.

The first mention of a fortification at this site was however in 1459. In 1659 only ruins of this fortification remained. Later during 17th century the castle was rebuilt and embellished. It then had a high, square keep.

In the second half of the 19th century, the architect Parent gave Dongelberg Castle its present appearance; an imposing neo-Louis-XIII castle with a tall, square tower out of sandy limestone with a medieval look.

If the present tower is the original keep is questioned because it bears little resemblance to the keep depicted in a late 17th century drawing of the castle.

At present Dongelberg Castle is private property and can not be visited. It stands empty and is boarded up. There seemed to be a hotel in some other buildings on the castle terrain. An ominous castle, this one, I would have loved to take a look inside.

The text above was written after I had visited the castle in 2011. In later years I also found out that it was put up for sale for €950,000. During restoration works in 2020, after it was sold, the castle sadly enough burned down. The last time I visited it again it was apparently being rebuilt. I am curious what its future use will be.

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