16th century, the Dukes lost interest in their Flemish possessions and in 1578 part of the castle was burned down by Protestants. Dukes of Pfalz-Neuburg, 17th–18th century In 1609 Duke John William of Cleves died without children and after the War of the Jülich succession in the Treaty of Xanten, the Fiefdom of Wijnendale passed to one of the victors, Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, as confirmed in 1634 by the Privy Council of the Habsburg Netherlands and in 1666 by the Treaty of Cleves. During the many attacks by Louis XIV on Flanders, Wijnendale was occupied many times by passing troops and severely damaged in 1690, when French troops blew up part of the castle. In 1699–1700 Duke Johann Wilhelm had the castle rebuilt. On 28 September 1708, during the War of Spanish Succession, a battle took place between French and allied troops at Wijnendale which ended in an allied victory. The castle was not damaged. In the 17th and 18th century it was inhabited by a governor, as the Dukes of Pfalz-Neuburg resided in Germany. In the middle of the 18th century, Duke Charles Theodore constructed roads in West Flanders to improve trade, with Wijnendale in the center. French and Dutch period In 1792 the French Revolutionary armies invaded the Austrian Netherlands and ended the feudal system. Charles Theodore moved the contents of the castle to his residences in Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Munich. The castle became the property of the French state. In 1811 the French troops damaged it so badly that only ruins remained. In 1825, during the Dutch period the estate was sold to a Walloon industrial group, which had all the trees cut down, before going bankrupt. Family of Matthieu (de Wynendaele), 19th–21st century In 1833 the domain was bought by a banker from Brussels, Josse-Pierre Matthieu, who had the castle rebuilt between 1837 and 1852. His son Joseph Louis Matthieu modified it in 1877 and gave it its present romanticized, mediaeval form. In May 1940 Wijnendale made history again. On 25 May, just before the Battle of Dunkirk, there was a last meeting between King Leopold III of Belgium and four cabinet ministers (Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot, Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul-Henri Spaak, Minister of Internal Affairs Arthur Vanderpoorten and Minister of Defence Denis). With the country surrounded by German troops, capitulation was inevitable. The King however refused to follow his ministers to