Opprebais Castle

Opprebais Castle, locally known as Château d'Opprebais or Kasteel van Opperbeek, lies in the village of the same name, in the province of Walloon Brabant in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Opprebais Castle was built in the first half of the 13th century or maybe at the end of the 12th century probably by a local noble family. It is a square castle with round corner towers.

The first member of this family was mentioned in the beginning of the 13th century; Guillaume. His son Arnould d'Opprebais was mentioned in 1242. He married a daughter of the powerful Arnould de Walhain. Arnould d'Opprebais had a successor called Henri d'Opprebais or Henri de Beaufort. Henri was owner of the seigniory in 1245.

In 1362 a second Arnould d'Opprebais was mentioned as a vassal of the duke of Brabant. Then comes his bastard son Jean d'Opprebais followed by Robert and Jean de Thilly.

In 1438, Samson de Lalaing and Werner de Dave shared the succession of Jean de Thilly. In 1440 Opprebais Castle was mentioned for the first time in a list of goods owned by Samson de Lalaing. Later on Werner de Dave and his successors were the holders.

In 1486, the seigniory was sold to Jean de Glimes. It remained in the hands of his descendants until 1660 when the castle was sold to the Dukes of Arenberg. In the 17th century a farm was built inside its walls.

A nice castle, still part of a working farm. The castle is private property and can not be visited.

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