Landgoed Steenenburg Through the Centuries | Part 2: The Merger of Nieuwkuijk and Onsenoort

Haven’t read Part 1 yet? Discover the story leading up to this here in Landgoed Steenenburg Through the Centuries | Part 1: The Brabant Nobility.

From Free Lords to New Neighbors

In the 13th century, the lords of Cuijk were so-called “free lords”; they had, for the most part, free rein over what they did and how they did it. But as is so often the case in life, even periods of prosperity do not last forever.

In the 14th century, the fortunes of the van Cuijk family began to decline. Their financial situation was so dire that they were forced to sell part of their holdings, including their properties in Nije-Cuijk. “Wait a minute,” thought the Lord of Onsenoort, “your neighbor’s land only comes up for sale once.” So he was quick to snap up Nije-Cuijk in 1383. This gave him a much larger territory, but he did not automatically become the Lord of Nije-Cuijk. He did, of course, remain Lord of Onsenoort and—not unimportantly—he became the neighbor of the Lord of Drunen at Drunen Castle.

Ownership without Authority

But was it really practical that the lord of Onsenoort owned the property but had no authority over it? Not really, no, but we’ll sort that out. That is to say, the Count of Hoogstraten sorted it out. He was also a major landowner, though not in our region. He wielded significant military and administrative influence and had a very direct line of communication with the Duke of Brabant.

Ten years after the purchase of the Nije-Cuijk manor, Nij-Cuijk and Onsenoort were united under the authority of the Lord of Onsenoort. That brings us to around the year 1400.

Two Centuries of Change

This was followed by two centuries marked primarily by the Eighty Years’ War. Protestantism took hold, the authority of the Catholic King of Spain was no longer recognized, and the independent Republic of the Seven United Provinces came into being.

We’ve now moved forward a few centuries in our story. As a result of these developments, our region also came to be home to noble Dutch families of the Protestant faith.

The Arrival of the d’Oultremont Family

The royal houses and the higher noble families owned extensive estates and usually wielded significant influence over the administration. So let’s go ahead and give the lords of Drunen a name. For several generations, the Pauwels–van Haastrecht family was also responsible for the day-to-day management of the Drunen Manor. Their home base was Loon op Zand, but they were happy to “take care of” Drunen on the side.

What the noble families had in common was that they wanted to keep their wealth within the family. If at all possible, they sought to acquire more, not less. A very effective way to achieve this was to marry within their own circles. Often, a doting father would provide his beloved daughter with a dowry, usually in the form of large tracts of land—and I mean really large tracts. The Pauwels–van Haestrecht family was also part of those circles.

A Marriage with Far-Reaching Consequences

At the end of the 17th century, through marriages involving the Pauwels van Haestrecht family, the Wassenaar family first came into the picture, followed by the van Schagen–van Beieren family. The heiresses brought the entire family estate into the marriage, and—pay attention, because this is where it gets really interesting—in 1707, Isabella van Schagen married Jean-François d’Oultremont.

After the House of Drunen, Drunen Castle, and Steenenburg Castle, it will now be known as d’Oultremont Castle. That is how it was known in the area until more than fifty years ago.

Adrie Verboord

Adrie Verboord is the president of the Onsenoort Local History Society and, thanks to his curiosity and eagerness to learn, has accumulated a wealth of knowledge over the years about the history of the municipality of Heusden. In his own enthusiastic way, he brings historical events, remarkable individuals, and forgotten stories to life.

According to Adrie, local history is anything but stuffy. On the contrary: the more you know about the history of your surroundings, the more you’ll see, understand, and appreciate the places around you. In this blog series, he takes you on a journey through centuries of local history and shows you just how surprising, fascinating, and relevant the past can be.