Ostrevent Tower

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Ostrevent (or Ostrevant) Tower at Bouchain is a fortified building listed as a monument historique by order of 2 March 1981 and owned by the commune. According to a popular heritage source, it was built in the 12th century by the counts of Hainaut (Baudouin IV for his son Baudouin V) and incorporated into the town's walls. After 1530, Charles V is said to have converted it into an artillery battery, lowering and backfilling it, with the ground floor serving as a prison; Vauban is said to have added vaulted powder magazines after 1676. Bouchain's ramparts were dismantled in 1894, but the tower was preserved; it was encased in concrete in 1939 and is said to have played a role in the fighting of May 1940. It now houses the Musée de l'Ostrevant.