Jemeppe Castle

Jemeppe Castle, locally known as Château Jemeppe, lies in the village of Hargimont, in the province of Luxembourg in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Jemeppe Castle was built in 1270 by Jean d'Ochain. His castle consisted of just a large rectangular keep and served as a fortified residence to protect against attacks by soldiers and plunderers. Originally, the keep had only five stories. During that time, the area was continuously fought over by the ruling families of Namur and Luxembourg, who had been battling to control the duchies of Durbuy and La Roche since the 12th century.

Until 1616, the keep known as Jemeppe Castle was owned by the Ochain family. It then passed to Raes D'Ans, Lord of Velroux, through marriage. He expanded the castle by adding four wings with corner towers, creating a square moated castle around a courtyard.

In 1739 and 1748, these wings were modernized, and additional windows were installed.

In 1838, Jemeppe Castle was acquired by the De Sauvage-Vercour family. Between 1865 and 1875, Sir Adrien De Sauvage-Vercour undertook extensive renovations. Attics and pitched roofs were added to the wings, and Sir Adrien commissioned an unknown architect to build a 'crowning apex' on the keep, and the old flat roof was replaced with the current steep roof.

During the 20th century, the castle fell into neglect but was later restored to its current condition.

Today, Jemeppe Castle operates as an events and conference center, welcoming guests to visit this beautiful castle.

Jemeppe Castle also served as an inspiration for a new castle in the Netherlands, Almere Castle. That castle was intended to be an enlarged version of Jemeppe Castle. Construction began in 2000 but was never completed, and it now stands as a modern ruin.

Gallery