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| Main entrance, Castle of Gaasbeek |
The Castle of Gaasbeek, Belgium
Visiting Museums and Castles is Probably the main source of inspiration for the Ornamental Woodcarver.
These are places where the craftsman gets his ideas, he is looking for new challenges and always new unexpected surprises, and even after 25 years still feels something new to learn.
Exploring and studying ,looking at problems and how your colleagues 300 years ago solved them, their knowledge of tasteful proportions used in the interior decoration and their knowledge of carving techniques.
Historical background
Gaasbeek Castle is located just outside Brussels
amidst the gently rolling hills of the Pajottenland. The medieval castle had an
eventful past and evolved from a strategic stronghold into a spacious country
house. One if its most famous owners was the Count of Egmond. The current
building was redesigned in Romantic style at the end of the 19th century thanks
to the eccentric Marquise Arconati Visconti .
She decorated the castle as a museum to house her vast art collection and played it like a historical theatre setting. The dream castle which was created at the time is still a bit of a time machine. You can wander through historicising interiors and discover tapestries, paintings, furniture, sculptures and other valuable objects.
She decorated the castle as a museum to house her vast art collection and played it like a historical theatre setting. The dream castle which was created at the time is still a bit of a time machine. You can wander through historicising interiors and discover tapestries, paintings, furniture, sculptures and other valuable objects.
More about the building
The first fortified stronghold was constructed in the mid-13th century to
protect Brabant against invasions from Flanders and Hainault, but it was
destroyed in 1388. The reconstruction, a few external walls of which can still
be seen, took two centuries. During the first quarter of the 17th century,
Renaat van Renesse ordered the construction of a French garden, a baroque
pavilion and a chapel in the grounds.
In 1695 a wing of the castle was shot to
pieces by Louis XIV's troops. From 1887 to 1897 the castle was thoroughly
restored in Romantic revival style and has survived in this form to the present
day. Marquise Arconati Visconti employed the architect Charle Albert for the
reconstruction work. This is how the current dream castle came into being.
Today, it is, with reason, referred to as the 'Pierrefonds of Flanders'.
The
building and its historicising interiors together form an exceptional example
of how different styles were conceived at the time; the interior was entirely
redesigned into a meticulously planned Gesamtkunstwerk. The interiors offer a
sampling of architectural revivals, from Gothic Revival, to Renaissance Revival
to Rococo Revival.
In 1921, the last owner of the castle grounds, Marquise Arconati Visconti
bequeathed the estate with the castle and its entire contents to the Belgian
state. Three years later the castle was opened to the public as a museum, as
laid down by will. During the 1980 state reform the castle grounds were
transferred to the Flemish Community.
Art treasures
The collection contains the historic household effects as bequeathed by
Marquise Arconati Visconti. The heart of the collection dates back to the
Scockaert de Tirimont family and remained in the family by inheritance.
However, most of the collection was purchased by the Marquise who intended to
turn the castle into a museum of the Renaissance.
The pieces she obtained therefore date mainly from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The collection consists of about 1,500 objects.
Apart from paintings and sculptures it includes tapestries, furniture,
ceramics, silversmith's art The pieces she obtained therefore date mainly from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
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| The Neo Renaissance Style |
Visiting
Opening times and prices
Opening hours
The castle is open from 31 March 2013 through 3 November 2013, every day except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last admission at 5 p.m.). Open on public holidays!Admission fees
Standard: € 8Visits to the castle take place with an audio-guide and under the supervision of a member of our museum staff. Castle visits thus take place in group. The visit takes about 1 hour.
Website: http://www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be
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| https://www.patrickdamiaens.info |
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