Cortewalle Castle in Beveren and its history

Kasteel Cortewalle is a Flemish moated castle in Beveren in Belgium,
which was inhabited for many years by the de
Brouchoven de Bergeyck family.

History

The castle dates from the 15th century and is one of the
oldest in the Waasland. It is built in white sandstone, in the style
of the Flemish Renaissance. It was expanded by Joos Vijd,
who bequeathed it to his cousin Joos Triest. 

Joos Vijd & Ghent Altarpiece

Vijd was the third son of Clais Vijd and Amelberga van der Elst and
was born in the moated castle of Singelberg. His father was a
castle guardian and bailiff and moor master of Beveren, but
was relieved of these functions in 1390 by Philip the Bold
after an investigation into fraud and self-enrichment. The family
fortune has its origins in interest on land, peat extraction and
dyke tenders in the Waasland. 

Around 1392, Joos married Lysbette Borluut, a patrician
daughter from Ghent (she is also depicted on one of the panels).
The couple lived in a Ghent city house, known as the Vijdsteen,
in the current Gouvernementstraat and remained childless. Through
his sister Mabilie, Joos Vijd was the brother-in-law of Govaert Raes.

Although not knighted, Vijd assumed a quasi-noble status by
acquiring, among other things, the Ten Walle castle and all the land
that belonged to it in the Land of Beveren. In 1397 he moved to a
prestigious town house in Ghent by renting the refuge of the Duinenabdij. 

Through his marriage, Vijd was included in the Ghent gatehouse and he
became alderman several times from 1395-1396. When his brother
Christopher died around 1417, he inherited the Pamel-Ledeberg
lordship, which his father had purchased from the Brussels knight
Everard Boote. From then on, Joos Vijd started profiling himself
as a fully-fledged nobleman. Joos bastard cousin Jan Vijd lived
in the nearby estate of Shaeckx, which later became Hof ter Saksen. 

In 1433-1434 he was alderman of the Keure, a post comparable
to the position of mayor. Vijd was also a confidant of Philip the Good,
duke of Burgundy.

Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy

Vijd was closely involved in St. John's Church (later called St.
Bavo's Cathedral): he was a church warden and donated money for
the construction of a bay and a wreath chapel. 

After completing the chapel around 1424, he commissioned the
Maasland painter Hubert van Eyck to paint an altarpiece, now
known as The Ghent Altarpiece. 

source pictures: Wikipedia

the Ghent Altarpiece closed

👉As you can see Joos Vijd gave the order to paint himself on the
Ghent Altarpiece.

👉Did you know that King Philip II of Spain wanted to take this
Altarpiece to Madrid? However it luckily stayed in Ghent. 

With Hubert's death in 1426, work on the altarpiece came to a
standstill. His brother Jan would finish it between 1430 and 1432,
after which it was placed in the chapel. Three years later, Joos Vijd
and Lysabette Borluut set up a foundation (foundation) to ensure
their souls' salvation by celebrating a daily mass in the Vijdkapel.

To ensure that there would be money for the masses after their death,
they donated a piece of land to St. John's Church.

History (2) 

For centuries it was family owned by the Triest, Goubau and
De Brouchoven de Bergeyck. The De Brouchoven de Bergeyck
family sold it to the municipality of Beveren in 1965.

coat of arms of the Family

De Brouchoven de Bergeyck

Source picture: Wikipedia

In the 19th and early 20th century, the De Brouchoven de Bergeyck
family, in particular the counts Charles de Brouchoven
de Bergeyck (1801-1875) and Florimond de Brouchoven de
Bergeyck (1839-1908), made the last changes that give Cortewalle
its current appearance , such as the suspension bridge and the coach
house that replaced the medieval court, in addition to numerous
interior adjustments, including the Verlatzaal and the Blue room. 

Since 1999-2000, the De Bergeyck Archive has once again
been located at Cortewalle. After the death of Countess Joséphine
Cornet d'Elzius de Peissant (1877-1960), widow of Count Charles de
Brouchoven de Bergeyck (1875-1935), the archive was dispersed
among members of the De Bergeyck family. After her, the castle was
sold and no longer inhabited. The public sale of the entire contents in
1961 was also not favorable for preservation. Over the years, the
archive has become more and more divided. In 1997, the
De Brouchoven de Bergeyck Family Association called on all keepers
of the archive to reassemble it and keep it at the ancestral
castle of Cortewalle.

In 2000, the municipality of Beveren concluded a loan agreement
with the family for the collected archive. In 2005, an archive
component from the Saint Paul Seminary was also loaned by the
Diocese of Ghent.

Since 2001, the municipality of Beveren has employed authorized
personnel to open up the archive. The De Bergeyck Archives are
now organized and inventoried.

The castle has been protected as a monument since 1971 and can
be visited by appointment. The park is public. The count's hunting
dogs lived in a beautifully built doghouse, which made headlines
when it was restored for 10,000 euros.

A visit

The Cortewalle Castle in Beveren, Flanders, Belgium, certainly is a must see 
among the castles. Although the owners had no royal link, some of them, 
especially the family De Brouchoven de Bergereyck were nobility. 

I had the chance to visit this castle in November 2022 during a training
for my job. On that rainy day, I took the pictures of Cortewalle Castle in 
Beveren. 

More about the castle, check this link (in Dutch).