Monceau Castle

Monceau Castle, locally known as Château de Monceau-sur-Sambre, lies in a municipal park in the town of Monceau-sur-Sambre, in the province of Hainaut in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Monceau Castle was first mentioned in the 14th century when it belonged to Othon VI of Trazegnies. In 1443, Anne de Trazegnies inherited the castle as the sole heir of the Trazegnies family. Since she was married to Arnould de Hamal, Lord of Elderen, the castle passed into his family.

Around 1510, the castle was modernized by Jean de Hamal. The oldest parts of the current castle date back to that period. In the second half of the 16th century, the castle was heavily damaged by French troops but was later rebuilt by Guillaume de Hamal in 1607.

Anne-Florence de Hamal, who became the owner of the castle through her first marriage, married Pierre-Eugène de Gavre, Marquis d'Aiseau, in 1651. Thus, Monceau Castle came into the De Gavre family, who inhabited it until 1832.

It is said that in 1655, Monceau Castle was visited by Louis XIV of France. During their ownership, the De Gavre family made many changes to it, giving it its current appearance.

In 1832, the castle passed through inheritance to Marie-Aloyse, Countess of Egger. She left it to a nephew in 1864, who sold it in 1866 to Baron Jules-Jean Houtart. He renovated the castle, and his family lived there until 1936. Afterward, it was acquired by the local community.

Today, Monceau Castle is used as a conference center and is usually not open to the public. The surrounding park is freely accessible. A nice castle.

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