Castle of Ordingen

The so-called "Castle of Ordingen," former water fortress. Originally the castle of the Lords of Ordingen; played an important role due to its strategic location at the border of the County of Loon, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, and the Duchy of Limburg; destroyed during the Battle of Brustem (1467), but rebuilt by W. de Horion during the 16th century. Bought in 1611 by the land commandery of Alden Biesen, and transformed in 1633 into a commandery of the Teutonic Order; the fortress remained in that form until the early 19th century, when P. de Libotton, who had purchased the estate after expropriation during the French occupation, replaced the residence of the order brothers and the chapel with a castle in late-classicist style; this castle was replaced in the second half of the 19th century by the current Neo-Renaissance castle, built at the behest of H. de Pitteurs Hiegaerts. In its present form, a moated complex, on the northern bank of the Melsterbeek, accessible via a broad avenue; the park was parcelled out and cleared during the 1960s. The following parts of the 17th-century commandery have been preserved: the gatehouse with guardhouse, a corner tower, and the commander’s house. To the southeast, gatehouse with guardhouse: elongated building of eight bays and two floors under a lightly arched gable roof (slates) with dormer windows, and a square tower leaning against the northeast façade of one bay and three floors under a hipped roof (weather vanes, and stepped roof window on the northeast side); year 1633 on a façade stone with coat of arms of the commander of Amstenraedt (southeast façade above the gate). Brick building with forged iron wall anchors, and the use of limestone for corner bands and frames. The southeast façade features a central basket arch gate in a recessed, rectangular limestone frame, marked by a pointed façade elevation; small rectangular windows with recess blocks, and several monastery windows with recess blocks in the left part. The northwest façade has a round arch gate in a flat frame with recess blocks; the gate bay is marked by a stepped gable with two small wall openings and a bull’s-eye; the left part features monastery windows and elongated windows, both enriched with recess blocks; the right part was modified in the first half of the 18th century: monastery windows and rectangular small windows in flat frames (partly reused material). Stepped side façades. The corner tower is finished with several rows of brick placed one above the other below the eaves; rectangular windows and monastery windows with recess blocks. To the north, commander’s residence: L-shaped building of two floors under gable roofs (slates) with dormer windows. Brick building with forged iron wall anchors and the use of limestone for corner bands and frames. The northeast façade is designed as a front façade, with a cut, corner support buttress on the left; façade of three bays, with an adjoining two bays of the northeastern side façade of the angled northwest wing, crowned with a stepped gable top (nine steps and a top piece); monastery windows and rectangular ground floor windows with recess blocks; the door is located on the second floor: round arch door with steps and a front, closed off by a gate. The stepped gable has a rectangular door on the ground floor, a three-part cross window, a cross window, and a round arch window with impost stones and a key stone with a short dripstone. Stepped southwestern side façade with a small round arch window with recess blocks in the top, and later bricked façade stone with the year 1740 and the coat of arms of the Teutonic Order. The southwest façade features a (later added) annex under a shed roof against the ground floor; modified wall openings in this part, two rectangular small windows with recess blocks on the second floor. The southwestern wing, probably the stabling part, is modestly finished: rectangular wall openings (with a loading window on the second floor) with recess blocks. Stepped side façade. Of the adjoining barn (?) under gable roof, only a few remnants have been preserved. Currently standalone, western corner tower: square tower of one bay and three floors under a crooked tent roof (slates): anchored brick building with limestone finishing for the slit-shaped arrow slits and rectangular windows with recess blocks; pigeon loft on the upper floor. To the northeast, Neo-Renaissance castle from the second half of the 19th century, almost completely rebuilt after the bombing in 1940. Building with a complex shape, featuring corner towers with highly differentiated shapes and roofing on various sides. Brick construction with the use of natural stone for corner bands, bands, frames, and ornaments.

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