Middelburg was founded by
Pieter Bladelin, a high-ranking official responsible for financial matters in the court of the
Duke of Burgundy,
Philip the Good. Bladelin had begun purchasing parcels of land in the area already in 1433, and in 1444 his holdings were united into a single
fief and manor. After 1448, he built a castle and began developing the town according to a
grid plan. Originally, the town had a
moat, walls and town gates, as well as a town hall and a church dedicated to saints Peter and Paul (built 1452–1460). Bladelin invited craftsmen of copper from
Dinant and tapestry-workers to settle in the town; the Duke of Burgundy ordered a tapestries from its workshops and
Edward IV of England granted Middelburg trading rights in copper in 1472. by
Pieter Pourbus, 1571 After Bladelin's death,
William Hugonet, another Burgundian official, became the new lord of Middelburg in 1476. Following the death of
Charles the Bold, he was however imprisoned and the castle in Middelburg seized by troops from
Bruges in 1477. Hugonet was shortly thereafter executed, and the fief passed to his descendants. However, the castle was again captured and partially destroyed by troops from Bruges in their struggle with the future Emperor
Maximilian in 1488. During the
Eighty Years' War it again changed hands several times and reduced to a state of ruin, after which it began to be dismantled by locals using it as a quarry. Today only the foundations remain. ==Appearance==