Antoine Castle

Antoine Castle, locally known as Château Antoine, lies in the town of Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, in the province of Liège in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Antoine Castle was built between 1295 and 1298 by Antoine de Jemeppe. Then it only consisted of the rectangular keep with its two semicircular protruding stairwells on its short sides. It was surrounded by a moat.

In 1448 it was acquired by an Alexandre Sandron. During the 16th century it was owned and contested by several parties, amongst whom the De Reepen family. In 1617 a Lambert de Reepen sold Antoine Castle to Baron Godefroid de Bocholtz, who rented the castle out to a Fourneau. This Fourneau bought the castle from the baron in 1627.

In 1650 Antoine Castle was owned by the Jesuits of Trèves who then sold it to a Mr. Gaen. By that time the castle stood in a domain of some 37 acres of land, park and orchards. During the rest of the 17th century the castle changed hands a lot of times again before finally going back to the Fourneau family.

A miss Fourneau and her husband Laurent van der Heyden owned Antoine Castle in 1728. They are credited with the building of the U-shaped extension against the medieval keep.

Probably somewhere during the 19th or early 20th century the domain in which the castle stood completely disappeared and was built over. So much so that it now stands on only a little field of grass within a densely built residential area. It has been standing empty since well over 20 years.

The site of Antoine Castle is freely accessible but the castle itself is completely walled and boarded up. Also the neighborhood in which it is situated is a bit run down. A sad situation for this nice castle.

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