Six centuries between enclave & heritage
Veulen, located near Heers, had been a Brabant fief since 1219, legally belonging to the court of appeal of Vroenhoven, and was incorporated into the united provinces by the Peace of Münster (1648). This led to long-standing conflicts, until the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1785. On the Ferraris map (1774-1775), Veulen is indicated as a 'Dutch enclave'.
Prominent families
The lordship itself, of which Jan van Gutschoven (+1376) was the first mentioned lord, was successively inherited by the de Merode, Berlo, and Argenteau families.
In 1712, Veulen was sold by Florimond Claude, Count de Mercy (1666-1734), a Field Marshal in the Austrian army, who had inherited the estate from Robert Ernest d'Argenteau (+1690), Commissioner General of Military Affairs in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The new owner was Philippe Balthasar, Baron de Villers, but not for long, as in 1735 the estate reverted to Florimond Claude's adopted son, Antoine Ignace Charles Auguste d'Argenteau (1692-1767). He placed the Mercy before his own name, rose to the rank of Field Marshal of Maria Theresa, and died on his estate in Hungary.
His only son, Florimond Claude Charles de Mercy Argenteau (1727-1794), was his heir; he served in the diplomatic service of the Austrian court, served for many years as chargé d'affaires to the French court, and died on a mission in London. His will appointed a relative, François Joseph de Mercy Argenteau (1780-1869), as sole heir. The inheritance was very substantial; the will was legally challenged and only declared valid three years later, thanks in part to the efforts of the Claes family, who had provided stewards for the estate in Veulen since the 17th century.
In 1815, François Joseph was profiled by King William I's commissioner, who was seeking collaborators for his court, constitution, and administration. François Joseph de Mercy Argenteau was attributed a vast fortune of 150,000 florins (a considerable sum), high social standing, honesty, and dedication. He had been Napoleon's ambassador to the Bavarian court and combined "the facility of expressing and the best ton." It is therefore not surprising that, despite his "French" past, he was appointed Grand Chamberlain at the court. In 1830, upon the creation of Belgium, he retired to his ancestral castle of Argenteau. He had already sold Veulen, then located in the department of Lower Meuse, in 1809.
The new owner was Joseph André de Donnea, a knight, merchant, and proprietor based in Liège (1772-1836). He belonged to a family that had settled in Liège since 1606 and was active in iron processing and trading. In 1836, the heritage accumulated over five generations came into the hands of Joseph André's brother Charles de Donnea (1776-1857). Upon his death in 1857, he was able to leave a castle to each of his six children. Veulen and the ancestral hotel in Liège were the inheritance of his eldest son Alexis (1811-1880), who had managed Veulen since 1836. The de Donnea family occupied the castle for five generations until 2001. The last owner was Knight François Xavier de Donnea, who was Mayor of Brussels (1995-2011) and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region from 2000 to 2003.
In 2001, the castle came into the hands of Dr. Johannes Vogel, who initiated a major restoration, which was successfully completed in 2008. In 2016, the estate was transferred to the Van der Meer family, who initiated a second restoration campaign and live and work there today.
Since the completion of the second restoration campaign in 2023, Veulen Castle has once again firmly established itself in the Hesbayelandscape—as a witness to a rich past and as a living heritage with a future.