While it is currently under construction, a fire broke out this Tuesday evening at Dongelberg Castle.
The firefighters of the Walloon Brabant rescue zone were called this Tuesday at 8:20 p.m. for a major fire at the Château de Dongelberg in Jodoigne. Two Wavre and Jodoigne self-pumps were deployed as well as three tanks and two auto-scales. The roof was completely ablaze. The castle, currently under renovation, is unoccupied. There were no injuries. Elements of the structure begin to collapse.
The mayor Jean-Luc Meurice announces that the Chaussée de Charleroi (N222) is closed to traffic. “There are too many onlookers on the spot, the police intervene to make them leave. We have therefore taken measures so that the site is no longer invaded by people who have nothing to do with it! I appeal to people to avoid going there and those who are there, to leave the place. ”
At this stage, the circumstances have not been established. “We just know that there was work in progress. Besides, construction equipment prevents the firefighters from intervening correctly because they are often placed in places where the firefighters would like to have easier access …”
The structure is threatening!
Jean-Luc Meurice does not hide his fears. “The fire is violent. There is a risk of collapse of the structure. The firefighters are doing their utmost to intervene but the conditions are far from easy. A shortage of water is possible during the evening in the village.”
A year ago, the castle was on sale. The announcement evoked a historic monument which is situated on a peaceful 11 hectare site in a vast landscaped park enclosed by walls between Louvain and Namur, ± 3 km from the center of Jodoigne, and ± 40 km from Brussels. Price asked at the time: € 950,000.
A 14th century castle
If the history of this castle dates back to the 14th century, it was in 1835 that it became the one we know today, at the instigation of Baron Joseph-Louis Osy de Zegwaart who bought the property and transformed it. In a book published in 2004, the historian Joseph Tordoir tells us that King Albert I almost acquired the castle when the owner died. In the end, this was not the case, and during the First World War, a colony of “weak” children (term which designated children who lacked physical strength due to malnutrition or a serious illness) settled. in the Dongelberg area.
In 1919, the property was sold to the National Child Works (ONE) and thus became the home of Henri Velge. The interior of the castle is then transformed to make it more functional, removing all the prestigious decor of the castle. Until the late 1970s, little Jodoignois and their parents went there for ONE consultations.
Then, the place passes into the hands of the Cooperative for cultural centers, with a view to renting it to the ASBL Campus, a group close to Opus Dei. If it wishes today to resell the abandoned castle, the ASBL still organizes seminars and offers hotel services in another building on the estate.
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