Castle of the Princes de Mérode: A Historic Water Castle in Westerlo, Belgium
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Belgium
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Duchy of Brabant, Habsburg, Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
The Castle of the Princes de Mérode is a historic water castle in Westerlo, Belgium, whose central donjon was probably built by the lords of Wesemael during the second half of the fourteenth century. The construction date is uncertain, but the tower likely replaced an earlier fortress on the same site. The castle has been the home of the House of Mérode for more than five centuries, since the family acquired it in 1484.
From Fortress to Noble Residence
Other parts of the castle are thought to date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Over time, the building was repeatedly adapted, enlarged, and renovated. From the sixteenth century onward, these changes gradually converted the medieval stronghold into a more comfortable and luxurious residence, reducing its defensive character while preserving elements of its fortified origins.
The Mérode family continues to occupy the castle, and Prince Simon de Mérode is identified as its current resident. The residence is also known locally as the Old Castle, reflecting its long association with the family and with Westerlo.
Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Transformations
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Field Marshal Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Mérode-Westerloo, a senior military commander and member of the Mérode family, commissioned a formal park across the Nete River. Inspired by Versailles and shaped by the French garden tradition, the park extended the designed landscape beyond the immediate castle grounds.
Several restorations in the nineteenth century gave the castle a more romantic medieval appearance. During the same century, the knight’s hall and household chapel were furnished or redecorated in the Neo-Gothic style. The castle is protected as a monument in Belgium.
Remains
Castle Buildings and Interior
The castle is constructed mainly from local brown iron sandstone, a sandstone colored by its iron content, together with brick. Its central donjon has massive walls approximately 2.75 metres thick, demonstrating the substantial construction of the medieval fortified core. The surviving building combines this tower with later sections dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Inside, the principal spaces include an entrance hall, a knight’s hall, a large drawing room, a dining room, and a household chapel. Their furnishings include fine furniture, paintings, tapestries, eighteenth-century gilded leather wall coverings, and objects collected by the Mérode family over several centuries. The nineteenth-century Neo-Gothic treatment of the knight’s hall and chapel forms part of the castle’s later interior character.
Moat, Ponds, and Immediate Grounds
An English landscape park of approximately 12 hectares surrounds the castle. Its ponds are connected to the moat, linking the water features directly with the castle’s defensive setting. The surrounding ponds also supply the present heating system, which uses aquathermal energy drawn through a geothermal heat pump.
Formal Park Across the Nete
Across the Nete River lies a larger formal park covering about 60 hectares. It follows the French tradition and includes a rectangular pond that creates a long visual perspective. Commissioned at the beginning of the eighteenth century, this landscape forms a distinct counterpart to the English landscape park around the castle itself.
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