Chateau de Bouillon – home of Godfrey of the Crusades

A medieval castle in the town of Bouillon in the south of Belgium… impressively standing on the hill and witnessing its glory.

Although it was mentioned first in 988, it has been there, on the same site for a much longer time. The castle is situated on a rocky cliff of the river Semois .

In 11 century it came to the possession of Godfrey of Bouillon who sold it to Bishop of Liège in order to finance the First Crusade. The castle was later used for heavy artillery in the late 17th century.

Inside the castle you can walk from from room to room, to what used to be a library, to underwater passages,warehouses with of course – the brewery 🙂 until the dungeon where some detainees were tortured or killed. It is a great insight to medieval times!

Godfrey of Bouillon, 11th century was a Frankish knight, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. To the Buillon castle he brought the best in technology and production to recreate the first Crusade in the company of thousands of men making their way to Jerusalem. After the successful siege of Jerusalem in 1099, Godfrey became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He refused the title of King, however, as he believed that the true King of Jerusalem was Christ.

Of course, he made himself a final destination in the city of Bouillon. Although not buried in the castle, his grave is very close to the city walls with the museum opened a few years ago.