Florennes Castle

Florennes Castle, locally known as Château de Florennes or Château de Beaufort, lies in the town of Florennes, in the province of Namur in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Florennes Castle dates back to the mid-9th century, when a wooden fortification was built on a rocky ridge west of the village. This wooden fortress was replaced by a stone castle a century later. In 1070, the castle, which had belonged to the local count, became a stronghold of the Principality of Liège. It was then occupied by the Rumigny family, vassals of Liège, until the late 13th century.

In 1281, the castle passed to Theobald of Lorraine through marriage, and he would become Duke of Lorraine as Theobald II in 1303.

The castle was badly damaged during a siege in 1408. Beginning in 1417, Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine, undertook renovations that included building a terrace and, in 1425, creating a park. After being damaged again during a siege in 1430, the castle and the town of Florennes were fortified around 1465 with ditches, bastions, and other defenses. These walls still existed in 1517, and the castle was accessible by a drawbridge. The House of Lorraine owned the castle until 1556.

That year, ownership transferred to the House of Glymes-Jodoigne. Queen consort of Navarre, Margaret of Valois, sought refuge in Florennes Castle in 1577.

The fortifications of the castle and town of Florennes were demolished on the order of Louis XIV of France in 1704, but by the 1740s, some castle towers were still reported to be intact.

The castle was transferred from the Glymes family to the Beaufort-Spontin family in 1771. During the French Revolution in 1794, the castle was confiscated, and Frederic Augustus Alexander, Duke of Beaufort-Spontin, fled the country. After the monarchy was restored in 1814, the castle was returned to the Beaufort-Spontin family. They sold it in 1893, but their name remained associated with the castle.

In 1902, French Jesuits bought the castle and used it as a college. During World War I, the castle was first used as a hospital by the French and later by the Germans. The German forces returned in 1940, occupying the castle with Luftwaffe personnel until 1944, after which it was taken over by American troops. In 1950, the Jesuits sold the castle, which was then converted into a public school.

Today, Florennes Castle is partly used as a primary school and can be admired from the outside.

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