Heerlijkheid Steenbergen and the Spanish Roof

The lordship of Steenbergen, inheritance of the lords of Heverlee, became the property of the Leuven professor of medicine, Hendrik van Wesel(e), in 1383. Steenbergen remained in the possession of the family until 1560. In the time of Andreas Vesalius, Latin name for van Wesele (1514-1564), it was owned by his aunt. He himself never stayed there. Afterwards, the lordship became the property of the van Herckenrode family and in 1759 of the Dukes of Arenberg. The castle from the beginning of the 17th century was then used as a hunting lodge and from the end of the 18th century as a forester's house, la Montagne. It remained the property of the House of Arenberg until 1920. Afterwards it was leased to the Bellefroid family who became its owners in 1951. From then on it became an inn with the names 'Lusthuis' and 'Drank en Spijshuis' Now it is a restaurant, owned by M. Uytendaele. Remarkable about this white-painted building with red roofing is the built-in turret with stepped gable. The pointed roof with stepped gable is typical of a "Spanish Roof" from the second half of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, the time of Spanish rule under Philip II and afterwards under the Archdukes Albert and Isabella.

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