The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot made the Arenbergs the wealthiest and most influential noble family of the Habsburg Netherlands. The family's Duchy of Arenberg was mediatized in 1810. As such, the Arenbergs belong to the small group of families that constitute the Hochadel.
Arms of the Dukes of Arenberg
Count Charles of Arenberg and Anne de Croÿ, with their children
Egmont Palace, Brussels
Arenberg Castle, Belgium
The Egmont Palace, also sometimes known as the Arenberg Palace, is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally built between 1548 and 1560 for Countess Françoise of Luxembourg and Count Lamoral of Egmont, though its appearance was heavily modified in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was partly destroyed by fire in 1892, after which it was once again reconstructed. Nowadays, it is used by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for receptions, as a guest house and conference centre.
View from the cour d'honneur (main courtyard) of the Egmont Palace
The Egmont Palace, c. 1750
The oldest part of the Egmont Palace (right) before the fire of 1892
The Palace on fire seen from the Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavel, 22 January 1892