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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Hamal Castle

Castle in Limburg, Belgium

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ5644002 ↗
Source-derived summary

Hamal Castle (Dutch: Kasteel van Hamal) is a castle in Rutten near Tongeren in the province of Limburg, Belgium, once the centre of the small independent lordship of Rutten. The castle was first mentioned in 1214. The current castle dates from the late 18th century.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hamal Castle” as castle in Limburg, Belgium. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1214—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Hamal, Castle and Limburg can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as castle in Limburg, Belgium. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5644002. Authority coordinates are 50.754, 5.461. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1214.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hamal Castle”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hamal Castle primary sources, Hamal Castle archive and Hamal research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hamal Castle”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Hamal Castle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.