Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne, Rochefort, Belgium

The Castle of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne is located in Wallonia near Rochefort. In 1244 Jacques de Wellin de la Vaux built a simple tower in order to monitor the Bavay-Nassogne Roman road at the request of Andage Abbey (now Saint-Hubert). In 1450, Jean II de Berlo commissioned the building of the current castle, initially with three great towers connected by curtain walls. The fourth tower is built in 1500.

In 1630 the castle was bought by the baron Jacques-Renard de Rouveroy, an infantry colonel in the service of Emperor Ferndinand III. Because of the evolution of war tactics the castle's defenses were rendered useless. So he turned it into a country mansion. He took down one curtain wall and remodeled the facade of the inner courtyard into Italian baroque. He also covered the castle in red bricks and added the bulbous roofs.

In 1796 local revolutionaries destroyed the chateau. The banners are removed from the roofs and the coats of arms are attacked with hammers. In 1933 the estate was donated to the non-profit organisation Les Amis du Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne created by Baroness Lemonnier, who fully finances the restoration of the site. Today, it is a open to the public.

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Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne

User Reviews

Jerry Renes (2 years ago)
Nicely maintained castle to visit on a cloudy / rainy summer day. Dress up clothes for kids available and a nice garden. Lots of historical info.

Grant Pudlowski (2 years ago)
Nice Castle in great shape, eclectic range of artifacts, and free parking. Prices in the giftshop are reasonable. There is a nice brasserie a 2 minute walk away.

Cezar Neculae (2 years ago)
A true gem of Belgian historical heritage. The visit takes about 1h 30 min. There is a picnic place within the castle perimeter, but no restaurant. There is a private one 100m from the entrance. The parking lot is quite big, with extra parking places on one side of the stone fence.

Bogdan Florescu (2 years ago)
Pleasant surprise: great interior, and wonderful grounds, you can even take a small "train" for 2 EUR per ride to visit the park. The garden is similar to French Versailles style gardens, and it is wonderful to imagine themed parties that can take place here, venetian, Louis XIV style ?

Angelo Blasutta (3 years ago)
Amazing castle, both outside and inside. A couple of hours well spent. The only downside - but this is a personal point of view - it's the excessive reference to the hunting (dozens and dozens of stuffed animals).

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