In the 12th century, this territory of the young Duchy of Brabant was strategically positioned between the County of Flanders and the Berthout family, lords of Grimbergen.

The castle fell into disrepair due to lack of maintenance, while the Spanish dominance and the iconoclastic fury further worsened its condition.

At the end of the 17th century, Peter-Ferdinand Roose transformed the castle into a Renaissance "Chateau de Bouchout", surrounded by French ornamental gardens.

During the first part of the 12th century, the territory of Bouchout (alternative spelling Boechout and pronounced as Book-Howt), played an important role in the foundation of the Duchy of Brabant.

During this period, Godfrey I, Duke of Leuven settled peace with the Count of Flandres, so he could focus on establishing a stable Duchy.

The Berthout family owned a mighty castle at Grimbergen and thereby controlled the important trade routes from Bruges to Cologne (Germany).

However, Willem van Craaynem, who inherited the Bouchout Domain from his father Wouter, only owned about 120 to 160 hectares (300 to 400 acres) of land in about 1160–1170.

[4] The alternative etymology of boog-hout, meaning "keep your bow tensed", since the castle was positioned at a very strategic military location,[5][6] is not substantiated.

Several sources, including Doperé and Ubregts,[10] strongly suggest that it was knight Daniel who transformed the former fortified house into a mighty castle at about 1300.

At the end of the 14th century, the Bouchout family extended their properties which included Blaasvelt, Humbeek, van Loenhout and Diepensteyn Castle.

[15] It was Christoffel d'Assonville (1528–1606) who bought the castle in 1590 from Joanna Transylvan and restored "Bocholdia Castrum" into its glorious medieval state.

The homeland of the founding fathers of Bouchout Castle is about 8 kilometres (5 mi) to the east of Brussels and includes the villages Crainhem, Sterbeeck and Nossegem.

He was the son of Jan-Karel Roose († 1641), the mayor of the city of Antwerp and Anna Fredericks van Bouckhorst, lady of Séclin.

[19] After his parents died, Peter-Ferdinand became the foster son of his uncle Peter Roose who was an important advisor of Filips IV, King of Spain.

In this period, the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands were at war with its suppressor Spain, which ended with a final separation at 1648 (Peace of Münster).

In 1700, Peter-Ferdinand died without any heirs and he joined the ornamental family grave at the chapel of the St.Goedekerk (Brussels) beside his uncle Peter Roose.

The wooden bridge was dismantled and used to warm the French soldiers during the severe winter of 1795, while that part of the pond was filled up to facilitate the entrance to the castle.

The young nation, therefore, referred a lot to the late Middle Ages, during which the Southern Netherlands played an important role in the development of Europe.

The early neo-Gothic renovations of Bouchout Castle performed in 1832 by Count Amedeus de Beauffort should be placed in the latter context.

After the death of Count Amedeus de Beauffort († 1858) and his wife Countess Elisabeth Roose-de Baisy († 1873), their son Leopold became the owner of Bouchout Castle.

However, after the Civil War in the United States had ended, the North Americans forced Napoleon III to withdraw his troops.

[citation needed] This left Maximilian unprotected against the Mexican Republicans and, in spite of the many entreaties of his wife, he decided to stay.

Since Charlotte was the sister-in-law of Franz Joseph I of Austria, the domain was respected during World War I by the occupying German soldiers.

During World War II, Bouchout Castle was occupied by German soldiers, who also built four fortified shelters at the domain.

In November 1944, a first flying bomb struck the west side of the domain, causing most windows of Bouchout Castle to break.

Since then, it has served as a place for meetings, lectures and exhibitions, surrounded by the 92 hectares (230 acres) of the National Botanical Garden of Belgium.

Jan-Peter Balkenende gave a farewell party for his European friends, including Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany.