Château of Stuyvenberg

Château of Stuyvenberg
Château du Stuyvenberg (French) Kasteel van Stuyvenberg (Dutch) Schloss Stuyvenberg (German)
The Château of Stuyvenberg in 1934
General information
Type	Château
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Town or city	1020 Laeken, City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region
Country	Belgium
Coordinates	50°53′16″N 4°20′54″E

The Château of Stuyvenberg (French: Château du Stuyvenberg; Dutch: Kasteel van Stuyvenberg; German: Schloss Stuyvenberg) is a residence of the Belgian royal family, located in Laeken, Brussels. It is near the Royal Palace of Laeken, the official residence of the King and Queen of the Belgians. Another nearby residence, the Villa Schonenberg, is home to Princess Astrid, the sister of the current king, Philippe.^[1]

History

The Château of Stuyvenberg was built in 1725, acquired for 200,000 Belgian francs by the Belgian State in 1840, and later bought by King Leopold II, who donated it to the Royal Trust. The first Belgian king, Leopold I, used the château for his mistress Arcadie Claret, and their second child Arthur was born there in 1852.^[1]

Later, it was the birthplace of King Baudouin in 1930 and King Albert II in 1934; both spent their early years at Stuyvenberg. After World War II, Elisabeth of Bavaria, widow of King Albert I, lived at the château until her death in 1965. Subsequently, it was used for almost three decades as a guest house for foreign dignitaries. From 1998 to 2014, Queen Fabiola, widow of King Baudouin, called it her home. She died at Stuyvenberg on 5 December 2014.^[2] The château then stood empty for three years until the Royal Trust rented it out via Sotheby's to a private couple in 2017.^[3]

See also

• List of castles and châteaux in Belgium
• Royal Trust (Belgium)
• Neoclassical architecture in Belgium
• History of Brussels
• Culture of Belgium
• Belgium in the long nineteenth century

References

1. Fy, Ph (16 February 2024). "Le Stuyvenberg, lieu de paix de Fabiola". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
2. Bart Van Belle (5 December 2014). "Koningin Fabiola overleden". De Standaard (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
3. Clevers, Antoine (12 July 2024). "Le château du Stuyvenberg sera occupé par Michèle Sioen et Marnix Galle". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 13 July 2024.

External links

• Media related to Stuyvenberg castle at Wikimedia Commons