Bouchout Castle - The Donjon Tower

The Donjon Tower

Daniel van Bouchout (Boechout and also Wanghe), the grandson of Willem van Craaynem, is one of the most famous members of the Bouchout family. He was the first one to use the name "Van Bouchout" and fought at the Battle of Worringen in 1288. It was Daniel who played a major role in capturing Reinoud van Gelre resulting in a glorious victory for duke Jan I van Brabant. Thereafter knight Daniel van Bouchout became one of the duke's advisors.

Several sources, including Doperé and Ubregts, strongly suggest that it was knight Daniel who transformed the former fortified house into a mighty castle at about 1300. It included a large Donjon and five subsequent canals with an enormous drawbridge of 10 m in length. The Donjon tower is still preserved and is believed to be the oldest part of the current Bouchout Castle. This military Donjon has two levels and a platform. Each level has functional loopholes. The Neo-Gothic windows at level one most likely were made during the renovations of 1832, while the right-angled windows of level 2 are more original. The upper platform has battlements and merlons. At the court site, the coat of arms of the Bouchout family is visible (a red cross).

A second historical member of this family was knight Jan van Bouchout (c. 1320–1391), grandson of Daniel. At 1355, duchess Johanna succeeded her father, Jan III of Brabant. This succession led to a war with Flanders, since its Lord -Lodewijk van Male- was married with Margretha, the second daughter of Jan III. The Brabant forces were beaten in 1356 at Scheute and most likely also Bouchout Castle was taken. After peace was restored, Jan became commander of Brussels. He fought against the Lord of Gerle at the battle of Baesweiler in 1371, but the Brabant troups were defeated. In 1386 however, he led a successful attack on the city of Grave at the river Meuse, thereby restoring his military distinction. Jan married Joanna van Hellebeke but the couple dit not get any heirs. It is known however, that Jan was father of a large number of natural descendants which are known as "the children of Bouchout".

At the end of the 14th century, the Bouchout family extended their properties which included Blaasvelt, Humbeek, van Loenhout and Diepensteyn Castle. The direct family line became extinct however and the last representative, Margareta van Bouchout, married Everhard van der Marck in the middle of the 15th century. Thereafter, Bouchout Castle was owned by the Van der Marck family (1476–1537) and the Transylvan family (1537–1590). During this period Bouchout Castle fell into disrepair due to lack of maintenance. Moreover, the Spanish dominance of the Netherlands in the 16th century and the iconoclastic fury of 1566 further worsened its condition.