When we moved to Heeswijk Dinther some 3.5 years ago, we did not know the place at all. We had no ties with it, there was no family, and I might have been there 2x in my life before we went to live there.
But soon after we came to live here we discovered that Heeswijk Dinther still has quite a bit of history. And also interesting objects that have really stood the test of time. Such as, for example :
CASTLE HEESWIJK!
The history of Castle Heeswijk is a long eventful history, going back to about the year 1080!
In that year, a fortified place was built on the spot where the castle now stands. A so-called Moth Castle. This has been done, according to the old writings, in order to be able to hide from robbers and other rabble which was very active in this area at that time. The first lord of name who came to live at the castle was Count Almericus van Heeswijk, and that was in the year 1156. The fortified place was extended to a castle. He died at the age of 30 but had already taken care of offspring, and by the end of 1200 a great-granddaughter of this count was marrying the Lord of Dinther. At that moment Heeswijk and Dinther are united in one administrative unit.
In the years that follow, the castle continues to exist in turbulent times and it is always being expanded. The 17th century is perhaps the most turbulent time for the castle. It is the era of the 80-year war, the era of the Oranges, the era of Maurits and Frederik Hendrik, the era of Jan 't Serclaes, Mathijs van Asperen and especially the era of Louis the 14th, the sun king who has his mind put on castle heeswijk. Brabant is in the middle of the war and the defense of the castle is being put to the test.
Quieter Times!
In the 1800s, quieter times for the castle began to break. Around 1826 the enormous estate comes for sale and in 1834 the first serious buyer arrives, who will eventually become the new lord of the castle. It is the Belgian André Baron van den Bogaerde from Terbrugge who was appointed Governor of the King in Brabant in 1830 and then extended to Brussels. This castle lord will spread his roots deep in the history of the castle and his family will remain in possession of the castle until 1987. In 1987, the Castle becomes the property of the foundation made by the widow of the last Baron, Willem van den Bogaerde van Terbrugge, was established in 1976.
Interestingly, the last Baron, Willem van den Bogaerde of Terbrugge, lived the last 20 years of his life in Germany in a castle on the Ems. His wife Baroness Albertine van den Bogaerde from Terbrugge lived in Heeswijk on the estate in the Coach House. Their marriage was not out of love, the marriage was not good, and that was the reason why the last Baron did not live in Heeswijk during the last 20 years of his life. He returned to Heeswijk once a month to spend a weekend or week with his wife in the Coach House and then quickly leave for Germany again. In 1972 he was taken back to the Coach House by his wife so she could take care of him. In 1974 he died there, and in 1976 his widow founded the foundation Kasteel Heeswijk. In 1987, she completely entertained the castle to the Kasteel Heeswijk foundation.
A socially moved woman!
The Baronesse, born in London in 1899, was very popular in Heeswijk. She devoted herself with heart and soul to the community both on a social level and economically. She paid particular attention to the tenants and was always there when a birth was to be celebrated, and she was also present at the church for a final greeting to the funeral services of her tenants. Before her marriage to the Baron she was lady-in-waiting of Queen Wilhelmina. She died in 1994 in the Coach House of Castle Heeswijk where she so loved to have lived.
Who today is going to Castle Heeswijk to experience the grandeur of the past will stand still to admire 'the legacy of the Baroness'.
A beautiful red beech in a prominent place, directly on the walking path, which runs around the Castle. A group of trees in an adjacent pasture. In the castle pond there is still a couple of Black Swans swimming, heirs of the couple Black Swans which the Baron and Baronesse had received as a wedding gift from her family from London. And of course the Coach House, where she loved to live.
The Castle Heeswijk. A place that intrigued, a place that enchanted, a fairy tale to see. And finally at rest after many turbulent years.
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