Alden Biesen Commandery

The history of Alden Biesen begins in 1220, when the Teutonic Knights Order founded the Land Commandery. This Order was divided into 12 bailiffs or provinces. Alden Biesen grew into the headquarters of the bailiff Biesen, which itself consisted of 12 subordinate commanderies. The showpiece, Alden Biesen, belonged to the Grand Commander. The castle domain had its heyday between the 16th and the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, the French Revolution put an end to this, because the Teutonic Order was expelled. The castle complex was publicly sold. When Guillaume Claes bought the domain, it was the beginning of two centuries of private ownership and decline. After the fire of 1971, the Belgian state bought Alden Biesen, and today the Grand Commandery is an international cultural center of the Flemish Government.

You are not allowed to walk in this area without visiting the Landcommanderij Alden Biesen. Several hiking trails also run across the grounds of the Lancommanderij. Alden Biesen is usually free to enter. If events are taking place, you may have to purchase an entrance ticket. Check this in advance on the website alden-biesen.be

The development of the Teutonic Order at the end of the 12th century - beginning of the 13th century led to a territorial expansion, which extended over the entire German Empire. For practical reasons, a division into independent land commanderies or bars was chosen, under the supervision of a land commander, but subject to the authority of the land commander of the German Empire. In 1220, Count Arnold III of Loon and Mechtildis of Are, abbess of Munsterbilzen, donated a small church with dependencies and arable land to the Order. This small church dated from 1209 and had grown into a Marian place of pilgrimage. The seat of the bar Alden Biesen was established here. In 1227 or 1228, the Order in the northwest of the Empire fell outside the direct management of the German master and Alden Biesen became the core of the new "land commandery of the Netherlands". The knights founded a commandery in Alden Biesen, from which the other commanderies in the Netherlands were founded: Bekkevoort (1229-30); Bernissem near Sint-Truiden (1237); Sint-Andreas in Liège (1254); Siersdorf (1270), Sint-Pieters-Voeren (1242), Gemert (1270), Holt (1281) and Ordingen near Sint-Truiden (1622). Utrecht, which also belonged to the original land commandery of the Netherlands, became an independent land commandery at the beginning of the 14th century. In 1362, Nieuwen Biesen was founded in Maastricht, initially just a refuge house, which grew into an important administrative centre for the Order in the Netherlands.The construction of the current commandery began under land commander Wijnandt van Brijel (1536-1554). The buildings, constructed since the foundation in 1220, are gradually demolished and replaced by new ones.Construction of the current moated castle begins in 1543.Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Landcommanderij Alden Biesen and steward's residence, id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/745