Johanna of Castile and Philip the Handsome

The marriage of the Burgundian heir Philip the Handsome to the Spanish princess Joanna of Castile is recorded in the history of Lier as the marriage of the century. “Joanna was the daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile,” Jos explains. “At the age of 15, she was married off to Philip of Habsburg, the son of emperor Maximilian of Austria and Maria of Burgundy. In August 1496, a large fleet departed with the princess, jewels, and other treasures to Flanders, where the marriage would take place. Lier was a better choice to organize this marriage than the major power centers like Antwerp, Mechelen, or Brussels. To Joanna's annoyance, her fiancé made her wait until October 20 because he was on a hunting holiday with his father in Tyrol.”

Although it was an arranged marriage and the two did not speak each other's language, it was love at first sight. “Because they wanted to marry immediately, they sought a priest who married them in the street. Thus, a double wedding took place in Lier: the unofficial wedding on the street and the official one the next day in the Colibrant chapel in the St. Gummarus church. “The couple stayed at the Hof van Mechelen, which was initially called the Hof van Santhoven. The wedding celebration took place in the attic of the abbot's inn, somewhere in the inner area behind the Hotel Hof van Aragon. Outside the tower, nothing remains of that inn. There was so much enthusiasm for the wedding that the wooden bridge over the Nete, at the height of the current Aragon bridge, collapsed. People are said to have even drowned. The marital happiness of Joanna and Philip did not last long. Philip regularly deceived her and died early, in 1506. His death left Joanna inconsolable and mad with grief.”

Sandra