The name of Broich Castle refers to the word 'broek' known in Dutch: wet ground and swamp. The first building is said to date from the twelfth century. When you arrive on site you may wonder what exactly the castle is because there are still buildings with turrets. Well, apparently all the buildings belong to the castle historically in one way or another. But the oldest "main building" is the one where you see an information board on the masonry bridge (it was once a drawbridge) and where a moat runs around.
This castle is today called "Château de Broich", but its real name is BROECK.
In regional dialect, BROEK means swamps.
Schematically, the castle is an agglomeration of four rubble buildings, more or less asymmetrical, with numerous angles and a slightly overhanging chamfered base.
The very capricious movement of the roofs, covered with slates, is very special.
Each of the two facades is pierced by an entrance door and surmounted at attic height by a triangular tympanum decorated with a round bull's-eye.
A masonry bridge replaced the old drawbridge.
When discovering this castle, we observe some similarities with the castle of STREVERSDORP, which is only a few hundred meters away as the crow flies.
The similarities concern the land, the ponds, the moats and at one point in history, the owners.
Indeed, from the 16th to the end of the 17th century, the two lordships of BROEK and STREVERSDORP belonged to members of the "Van der Heyden dit Belderbusch" family.
In 1699, the castle was sold to Jean-Josse de Harcking, knight of the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Winand-Henri de Harcking succeeds him.
Probably, by cessation of the lordship, his sister Catherine-Ernestine was Lady of Broek after him.
She had married Jean-François de Hertwick.
The property then passed to their daughter Ludovika-Dorothée de Hertwick.
She was married twice, first to Werner-Edmond de Broich, then to Baron Philippe de Witte de Liminghe, alderman of Aix-la-Chapelle and who through this link, became lord of Broeck.
The property then passed to the first son Charles-Henri de Broich (1765-1834).
Subsequently, we can still mention family names like: Pollart de Canivris, Ysebrandt de Lendonck, Deudon d'Heysbroeck and Canisius de Schinnen-lez-Sittard who bought the castle on July 2, 1935.
Today, Broich Castle has returned to the Broich family who have had the building renovated (current owner: Baron Karl von Broich).
Broich was classified as a site by Royal Decree of May 23, 1972.
Translated by Google •
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