Waroux Castle (Belgium)

We cannot speak of Waroux without mentioning the great conflict that pitted two powerful stocks from 1298 to 1335: the Awan and the Waroux. We are here in the presence of one of those private wars so frequent in the Middle Ages.

Since the 9th century, the “Charlemagne Law” guaranteed the nobles impunity in the event of a crime. The "Oath of Innocence" was enough to clear them. This authorized all abuses. The nobility arrogated to themselves the right to take their own justice. Hence the continuous civil wars.

Add to this that the love of war was at that time one of the dominant passions of noble families. Military glory was the most prized and the most laudatory nickname for a knight was "Probus" or "Preux" which means brave.

The slightest insult (and the nobles were very sensitive) served as a pretext for resorting to arms. Instead of filing a complaint with the prince's court of justice, we waged bloody private wars

The Awan and the Waroux were two very powerful Hesbaye families. The lands of the two lords were close. Both were proud and haughty, so they couldn't stay in peace for long.

The pretext for the outbreak of war between the Awan and the Waroux was the secret marriage of Hanneceau de Waroux with the young orphan Adèle Poret from the village of Awans. This girl was, a contemporary chronicler tells us, of a servile condition but rich in furniture and inheritance. Humbert Corbeau, lord of Awans, wanted it for one of his friends, then claimed it by virtue of his feudal rights from Guillaume le Jeune, head of Waroux's lineage. She replied that she was frank (free) so that she could marry whoever she liked.

Faced with the refusal of the lord of Waroux, the Awan attempted to kidnap the servant. When Hanneceau and his wife were informed of the Awan's intentions, they took refuge behind the walls of the castle of Waroux. Mad with rage, the Awan set fire to the mills and breweries of Waroux and ravaged their land.

The multitude of bloody episodes that have marked this war will result in thousands and thousands of deaths, not to mention material losses.

On May 16, 1335, the Peace of the Twelve was signed, so called because the leaders of the two factions were twelve (six for the Awan and six for the Waroux).


I Waroux: in the 12th and 13th centuries

Breton le Vieux, second son of Hugues de Lexhy, was lord of Waroux in the 12th century. His sixth son, Breton the Younger, later inherited the lordship. He had thirteen children and his eldest son, Guillaume, then his nephew Guillaume the younger, inherited the estate. It was during the life of Guillaume Le Jeune that the long quarrel between his lineage and that of Awans began.

William the Younger had only one daughter, whom he married after 1298 Rasse III, Sire de Warfusée.

The Warfusees: in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

The Lordship remained in the hands of the Warfusées during the 14th and 15th centuries. Agnès de Warfusée, heir to the Signoria, married Richard de Mérode in 1525, who would become mayor of Liège four times. He died in 1539 and his wife in 1561.


The Mérodes of Waroux XVI (1525) and XVII century

Agnès de Warfusée and Richard de Mérode had fourteen children, the eldest of whom, Guillaume, took over Waroux. Around 1623, their nephew Jean obtained from the German Emperor Rodolphe that the Lordship be erected as a County, for a service rendered to the Empire during the Thirty Years War. The first transformations destined to make this feudal castle a prestigious residence date back to this period. Jean will have thirteen children and his son Jean inherits Waroux. Upon his death, his brother Eitel-Frédéric took over the property. Died in 1674, his three granddaughters appear to have sold the property following the bankruptcy of the Mérodes.


The clerics of Waroux 18th and 19th century

Michel Clercx, canon of the Saint-Lambert cathedral, bought the property in the late 17th or early 18th century. For the first time in seven centuries the owner did not come from the nobility but from a bourgeois family from Hasselt. His parents had grown rich in the textile trade. Among their thirteen children is Mathias who also bought the castle of Aigremont in 1715 and rebuilt it "in a modern style".

Michel Clercx died in 1734 and was buried in Saint-Lambert in the Sainte-Anne chapel which he had restored and where he had built a new altar. In 1808 the Lordship of Waroux joined those of Alleur and Hombroux. At that time, one of the employees was the mayor of Alleur. This is Michel-Mathias de Clercx de Waroux. The family was ennobled. In 1904 the de Clercks moved to Aigremont, taking all the furniture with them.


The families of Terwagne (1904-1926) then Everard de Harzir (1926-1986)

In 1904 the castle was bought by the Clercxes from Marie de Terwagne, who died in 1926 without descendants. Adèle de Harenne (1888-1982), wife of Francis Everard de Harzir (1878-1940), inherited the castle in 1926. They restored it and moved there in 1927. They kept it until 1986. The municipality of Ans bought it, the January 1, 2005, by Dr. Léon Janssis who had owned it since 1986.