Heers Castle

Heers Castle, locally known as Kasteel van Heers, lies next to the village of the same name, in the province of Limburg in the Flemish region in Belgium.

A castle belonging to the Lords of Heers was first mentioned in 1274. During the Awans and Waroux Wars, that castle was burned down in 1328. It was rebuilt and passed to the Van Rivieren family through marriage in 1362.

In 1467, Raes van Rivieren was lord of Heers and was therefore called Raes van Heers. That year, he led an army of 12,000 civilians from Liège in the Battle of Brustem against a professional army of 25,000 soldiers led by the Duke of Burgundy, Charles I the Bold. The Duke routed Raes' army. The Burgundian troops then plundered the village and castle of Heers before setting them on fire. Raes van Heers fled to the French court. In 1477, he was forgiven, and his possessions, including the ruined Heers Castle, were returned to him. Raes van Heers then rebuilt the castle.

In the 17th century, the United Provinces were in conflict with King Louis XIV of France. In 1676, a strong Dutch garrison set up camp in Heers Castle. That same year, French troops besieged the castle, destroying two towers during the attack. However, the Dutch received reinforcements from the city of Hasselt, which forced the French to lift the siege. The French returned later that year and attacked the castle again. This time, they managed to conquer it, but they were driven out shortly after. In 1681, the castle was briefly occupied by German troops.

The last Count of Heers, Henri-Oger van Rivieren, died in 1682. Despite having 14 children, the family began to die out and was heavily in debt. To settle this debt, the dilapidated Heers Castle was sold to the De Stockem family, who then restored it.

Through marriage, Heers passed to the Desmaisières family in 1859. They would be the last private owners. In the late 20th century, it was owned by two quarrelsome, elderly brothers of this family who each lived in separate wings of the castle. Due to financial difficulties, maintenance was halted, leaving the castle to fall into complete ruin. To preserve this Flemish heritage, the castle was finally confiscated by the Flemish government in 2007. It was then consolidated and entrusted to Herita, a Belgian national heritage organization, which is now planning to restore it.

Heers Castle can be visited by appointment only. The castle garden is open to the public during the day. A beautiful castle.

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