Bütgenbach Castle

Bütgenbach Castle is situated next to the dam of the Bütgenbach Reservoir in the village with the same name, in the province of Liège in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Bütgenbach Castle was built in 1230 by Walram of Limburg, Lord of Monschau and Bütgenbach. It was built on a small rocky outcrop surrounded by the Warche stream. After his death the castle went to his son Walram the Younger. When he burned down the village of Theux during one of his raids, the Bishop of Liège retaliated by attacking Bütgenbach Castle in 1237 and burning down one of its towers.

After the last male heirs of Limburg had died, Bütgenbach Castle and Monschau went to the Falkenburg family through marriage.

In 1352 Bütgenbach Castle went to the Counts of Vianden who owned it until 1417. From then until 1795 the castle was ruled by the house of Orange-Nassau.

The actual owners under this rule were the Lords of Rolshausen who lived in the castle. They remained the owners of Bütgenbach Castle until the end of the 18th Century, ie until the French period. Under Christoph von Rolshausen works were made to the castle after it had been damaged by fire during the Jülich Feud in the 16th century.

Although in 1621 Bütgenbach Castle was said to be impregnable, it was destroyed in 1689 by the troops of the French King Louis XIV. From 1697 on the castle was habitable again but the French rule, from 1795 till 1815, brought the end for Bütgenbach Castle. Its ruins were used as a quarry for local houses.

At present all that remains is a small part of a round tower and some undefinable wall parts. So this one is only interesting if you are in the neighborhood and a castle fan like me ;-)

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