OTTENBURG

The oldest official mentioning of Ottenburg dates to 1208. Interpretation of the name is often as the living place (burg, burcht) of the Frank landowner Otto and his descendants. In the 14th century, Ottenburg was attached to the land Sint-Agatha-Rode, comprised of Sint-Agatha-Rode, Nethen and Archennes, by the Dukes of Brabant. Ottenburg passed through several families. The region was acquired by the Spanish family Lopez de Ulloa in 1651, and in 1656 Ottenburg and its manor were elevated to the status of a barony.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Ottenburg was an auxiliary parish of the neighboring Walloon village of Grez. In 1208, Duke Hendrik I established a chapel in Ottenburg through the Leuven St. Geertrui Monastery, along with the tithe and other churchly income. The gift was confirmed by the Prince-Bishop Hugo van Pierrepont of Liege in 1213. However, the pastor from Grez, Arnold van Walehan, demanded a portion of the tithe from Ottenburg. During the dispute, Pastor Arnold removed various church implements from Ottenburg, and appealed to Pope Honorius III on his claim for support. The dispute lasted 7 years before the abbots from Florette and Malonne were appointed to mediate the dispute. The dispute was settled in 1220 whereby Pastor Arnold acknowledged his wrong, in the taking of the church implements. Pastor Arnold renounced his claim to a portion of the tithe from Ottenburg and brought the objects back to the St. Nicolaus church.

From 1220 Ottenburg became a full parish, with service through the St. Geertrui Augustinian Monastery. In 1670, the church tower was struck twice by lightening, and severely damaged. The abbot of St. Geertrui was called upon to repair the damage, but declined stating the residents had the ability to repair it themselves. The residents, however, claimed they were not obliged to repair the tower and did not have the means to do so. In 1713 the residents of Ottenburg were commanded to repair the damage to the church tower. By then, the town was so ravaged by war and sickness that they were in no condition to undertake the task. Finally in 1730 the church tower collapsed.

In 1742 the Council of Brabant declared for the residents of Ottenburg that the church tower should be repaired. Progress on the church was stalled during the War of Austrian Succession (1745-1748). It was finally decided that it would be best to erect a full new church. The church was finally finished on May 1, 1777, being finished with iron stone from a local quarry.

last updated 4/27/06