Ansembourg Old Castle, Ansembourg, Luxembourg

Ansembourg Old Castle is one of the castles belonging to the Valley of the Seven Castles. Located high above the little village of Ansembourg, the medieval castle is the private residence of the current Count and Countess of Ansembourg.

The property is first mentioned in 1135 when the lord of the castle was Hubert d'Ansembourg. The fortifications were probably built in the middle of the 12th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, the south-western tower gate and the northern keep appear to have been built by Jofroit d'Ansembourg. Since the times of Jakob II de Raville-Ansembourg, the castle does not appear to have been significantly altered. The main entrance bears the date of 1565. In 1683, the castle was damaged by the French troups of Marshal de Boufflers. In the 17th century, repairs were carried out by the Bidart and the Marchant et d'Ansembourg families who built the New Castle of Ansembourg.

Today the castle is owned by Count Gaston-Gaëtan de Marchant et d'Ansembourg who moved into the property after the death of his father. At the end of 2008, the Luxembourg government acquired the family's library (around 6000 books) and were offered the family archives. Interest had grown in the collection after the Codex Mariendalensis manuscript telling the story of Yolanda of Vianden was found in 1999 by the linguist Guy Berg. The manuscript dating from the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century was especially significant as it was written in the Moselle Franconian dialect which is closely related to modern Luxembourgish.

The castle is strictly private property and is not open to visitors. Recently, the Count of Ansembourg opened a very exclusive boutique hotel, in one of the buildings surrounding the castle.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Mihaita Barbutu (2 years ago)
The day was perfect, sunny in mid-October. You can park the car inside, free of charge. Gardens are very nice. Too bad you can't visit the building itself, but we were already aware of that.

Shame A Name (2 years ago)
... free access to the gardens, drizzle on our visit but i suspect it would be a great day out during a proper sunny day. short drive from centre of town. no picnics allowed, has toilet facilities but no canteen or restaurant on site.

Johan Heremans (2 years ago)
Very nice castle. One of the oldest in Belgium and very good conserved. You can follow the guided path throughout the castle and see a bird of prey show.

McNiver (2 years ago)
Beautiful castle! Very nice gardens surrounding it as well. Good place to stop over and have a short visit. Castle itself couldn't be entered. Only gardens are open for public

Pedram Nick Aryan (2 years ago)
Beautiful gardens to walk around under a sunny day! Completely serene and peaceful. The sound of water flowing makes you feel very calm and there aren’t too many tourists around so you get to enjoy the place all to yourself. Such a short drive away from Luxembourg City so very convenient and easy to get to

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