Florennes Castle (formerly the Château de Beaufort) in Florennes

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The Florennes Castle (formerly the Château de Beaufort) in Florennes, Namur, Walloon, Belgium, is a castle that dates back to the 9th century, though most of the modern structure is much more recent.

Early history: The castle is located on a rocky ridge that stretches westward from the center of the old town of Florennes. There are early records of construction of a wooden castle in Florennes in 842. In 944, Count Eilbert replaced the wooden building with a stone castle surrounded by walls. Eilbert, Lord of Florennes, died on 28 March 977. His daughter Alpaide de Hoegarde (c. 921/1986) married Godefroi de Juliers, a Count of Hainaut, and their sons Godefroi and then Arnoul inherited Florennes. The town and castle, owned by Arnoul's grandson Godefroi IV de Florennes (c. 1010at 1080), became a fief of the Prince-Bishoric of Liège in 1070. The powerful Rumigny-Florennes family hero the castle as vassals of Liège until the late 13th century. In 1281, Isabelle de Rumigny, who had inherited the castle, married Thibaut of Lorraine, lord of Neufchateau. Thibaut was a warrior prince, and thought in the wars between the kings of France, the emperors of Germany and other potentials. He was...