Monceau Castle

Monceau Castle, locally known as Château de Monceau-sur-Sambre, lies in a municipal park in the town of Monceau-sur-Sambre, in the province of Hainaut in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Monceau Castle was first mentioned in the 14th century when it belonged to Othon VI of Trazegnies. In 1443 Anne de Trazegnies inherited the castle as sole heir of the Trazegnies family. As she was married to Arnould de Hamal, Lord of Elderen, the castle passed on into his family.

Around 1510 the castle was modernized by Jean de Hamal. The oldest parts of the present castle date back to that time. In the second half of the 16th century the castle was severely damaged by French troops but later rebuilt by Guillaume de Hamal in 1607.

Anne-Florence de Hamal, who became owner of the castle through her first marriage, married Pierre-Eugène de Gavre, Marquis d'Aiseau, in 1651. And thus Monceau Castle came into the De Gavre family who inhabited the castle until 1832.

It is said that in 1655 Monceau Castle was visited by Louis XIV of France. During their possession of the castle the De Gavre family made many changes to it, giving it its present appearance.

In 1832 the castle went, through inheritance, to Marie-Aloyse, Countess of Egger. She left it to a nephew in 1864, who sold it in 1866 to Baron Jules-Jean Houtart. Houtart renovated the castle and his family lived here until 1936. After that, it was acquired by the local community.

At present Monceau Castle is used for cultural activities, so its interior can not be visited. The surrounding park is freely accessible. A nice castle.

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