Ouren Castle

Ouren Castle is a castle ruin in Ouren in the East Cantons of Belgium. It was the ancestral seat of the lineage of the free nobles of Ouren.

Dating back to the 11th century, the site was originally a segmented, fortified castle fortress with a palas, a bergfried and a chapel in the higher-located northern part of the castle hill. The outer bailey with the service buildings were situated in the southern area.

During the Late Middle Ages the castle gradually lost its fortified character in favour of the living comfort of its noble inhabitants. Between 1535 and 1615, periods of modification mark the changes to the residence of the nobility. A re-drawing in the lost watercolour by Joseph-Ernest Buschmann (1814-1853) from the mid-19th century shows the site as a – probably romanticized – Baroque castle. After its demolishment by French Revolutionary troops in 1794 the castle became uninhabitable and was nearly fully demolished after 1845.