The Château of Seneffe or Château de Seneffe is an 18th-century

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

located in the municipality of

Seneffe Seneffe (; wa, Sinefe) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Seneffe had a total population of 10,743. The total area is 62.77 km² which gives a population density of 171 inhabitants p ...

in the province of Hainaut,

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The

is property of the

French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (french: Communauté française; ) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (french: Fédé ...

and serves as the "Centre de l'orfèvrerie de la communauté française" which displays a collection of antique (mainly 18th century) silverware.

History

In 1758 the 'Seigneurie de Seneffe' was bought by Julien Depestre, a Walloon merchant who earned a fortune by selling goods to the Imperial Austrian troops stationed in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

. Depestre's new status as a wealthy and influential individual was also confirmed by the acquisition of noble titles such as 'Seigneur de Seneffe' (Lord of Seneffe) and 'Count of

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

'. The new castle designed by

Laurent-Benoît Dewez Laurent-Benoît Dewez (14 April 1731 – 1 November 1812) was a Belgian architect of Walloon origin. He is considered the most influential architect in the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium) from the second half of the 18th century. His ...

had to match with Depestre's new noble status. It was erected between 1763 and 1768 in a novel neoclassical style. When Julien Depestre died in 1774 the decoration of the château and the embellishment of the park were continued by his widow and his eldest son Joseph II Depestre. After the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and the subsequent occupation of the

by the French Republic, the extraordinary art collection (1797) and the château were confiscated (1799). It was bought by a figurehead assigned by the Depestre family and came back into their possession after the ascent of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

as Emperor of the French in 1804. The château was sold by Joseph II Depestre's son Honoré in 1837 and bought by the Daminet family. In 1888 it was acquired from them by Baron Goffinet. The last private proprietor was a Belgian banker of Jewish origin, Franz Philipson, who bought the 'domaine' in 1909. In the advent of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Philippson family escaped to England and the United States. When German troops invaded Belgium in 1940 the château was confiscated by the Germans and used as a local headquarters and a summer residence for the German military Governor of Belgium, General

Alexander von Falkenhausen Alexander Ernst Alfred Hermann Freiherr von Falkenhausen (29 October 187831 July 1966) was a German general and military advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. He was an important figure during the Sino-German cooperation to reform the Chinese Army. In 19 ...

. After the liberation of Belgium in 1944 it was occupied by the US Army. It was acquired from the Philippson heirs in 1952 by the "Collège du Sacré Coeur" which used it as a school between 1952 and 1963. The castle of Seneffe was then abandoned for 7 years, until the Belgian State decided to purchase it in 1970. During these years the castle was severely looted by people who removed and sold valuable interior decoration such as marble fireplaces and carved wainscotings. After the acquisition by the Belgian state the deterioration continued due to defected doors, windows and roofing. Extensive interior and exterior renovations were only started after 1978 and were not finished until 1995.

Architecture

The château of Seneffe with its magnificent park and annexes offers a very fine example of a mid-18th-century noble residence. In general it follows the example of French noble and royal residences. It can be compared with the

Petit Trianon The Petit Trianon (; French for "small Trianon") is a Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 during the reign of King Louis XV of France. T ...

built at the same time (1762–1768) by

Ange-Jacques Gabriel Ange-Jacques Gabriel (23 October 1698 – 4 January 1782) was the principal architect of King Louis XV of France. His major works included the Place de la Concorde, the École Militaire, and the Petit Trianon and opera theater at the Palace of Ve ...

for

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. Elements like the colonnades flanking the central frontal courtyard are novel elements introduced by architect Dewez who trained in Italy under

Luigi Vanvitelli Luigi Vanvitelli (; 12 May 1700 – 1 March 1773), known in Dutch as (), was an Italian architect and painter. The most prominent 18th-century architect of Italy, he practised a sober classicising academic Late Baroque style that made an eas ...

. Dewez also found inspiration in neoclassical English country houses of his time. The quality of the architecture and its international inspiration make it a unique building. A wide tree-lined alley starting in the village of Seneffe gives access to the castle and its grounds. At the end of the alley a wide lawn provides an unhampered view on the broad courtyard (

Cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block (''corps de logis''), sometimes wit ...

) in front of the castle. The courtyard is closed by a monumental wrought iron fence which has a gilded gate in the middle. The actual château or

corps de logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal block of a large, (usually Classical architecture, classical), mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dict ...

is flanked by two long

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

d galleries (70 m) with a

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

on each end which forms a very monumental entry to the château. The

monolithic column A monolithic column or single-piece column is a large column of which the shaft is made from a single piece of stone instead of in vertical sections. Smaller columns are very often made from single pieces of stone, but are less often described a ...

s of the galleries are in the

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

. A terrace with a

baluster A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

ed railing is on top of the galleries. The blind wall of each gallery is adorned with semi-domed and rectangular niches which contain decorative vases and sculptures. The pavilions at the end of each gallery are very elegant buildings decorated with

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s in the

composite order The Composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.Henig, Martin (ed.), ''A Handbook of Roman Art'', p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, In many versions the composite o ...

, niches, and

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

-topped doors. They both have a domed second storey of which the right one houses a clock and a bell. The left pavilion is furnished as the château's

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

and the domed second storey serves here as a

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

providing zenital light to the interior. Each gallery is interrupted by two

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

d passages, flanked by pairs of composite

s, and giving access to the so-called 'communs' (originally containing kitchens, mews, a farm) on the left side, to a 'potager' and 'verger' (kitchen garden and orchard) on the right side, and to the park behind the castle. The facade of the

consists of five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

separated by monumental composite

s connecting the two main storeys. The middle

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

stands out slightly and is topped by a

which contains the coats of arms of Joseph Depestre and his wife flanked by gilded lions. A stair leads to the front door and into the entrance hall on the

piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...

. The two lateral bays are also flanked by composite pilasters. A

molded Molding (American English) or moulding (British and Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the process of manufacturing by shaping liquid or pliable raw material using a rigid frame called a mold or matrix. This itself may have ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

surrounds the entire building and is topped by a

ed railing only interrupted by the pediment in the middle and by a blind railing decorated with a 'guirlande' above the lateral bays. This railing partly hides the slate roof. Like the galleries the facades of the corps de logis are entirely executed in local "Pierre bleu du Hainaut" (Blue stone of Hainaut) or "Petit-Granit" a very hard greyish-blue limestone. This durable and expensive material also stresses the prestige of the building.

Interior

Most parts of the original decoration of walls, floors and ceilings are still preserved, as are most of the marble fireplaces. After the extensive damage of the 1960s and 1970s elements such as fireplaces, wainscotting and flooring was partly reconstructed. Some original elements stolen after WWII were even traced back on the art market. The sumptuous interiors contain elaborated ' parquets', fine decorated

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

ceilings of which some are gilded, sculpted and molded 'boiseries' and fine marble floorings and fireplaces mostly executed in

Belgian marble Belgian marble is the name given to limestone extracted in Wallonia, southern Belgium. It is quarried around the cities of Namur, Dinant, Tournai, Basecles, Theux, and Mazy/Golzinne. Description The rock is actually not a true marble (a metamorp ...

. The style of the interior could be characterized as an early continental neoclassicism with French inspiration. In some rooms the influence of the late

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style is still apparent, whereas in others a more 'classical' approach is discernible.

Park and 'Follies'

The park was laid out following the construction of the Château in the 1760s in a formal late baroque French style. The central axis of the alley, the courtyard and the middle bay of the corps de logis is continued in the park. A parterre with a path in the middle was situated directly behind the castle and ended on the banks of a formal pond. Close to the wall surrounding the park an

Orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

was built facing the south. This building can still be seen. Northwards, the axis is aligned with the church spire in the village of Seneffe. In the 1780s part of the park was rearranged as a

landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

following the English fashion. Numerous small buildings called 'Follies' were built on the grounds such as an island with a temple and a wooden 'cabane'. The most important addition from that time is the neoclassical theatre built by the famous French architect

Charles de Wailly Charles de Wailly () (9 November 1730 – 2 November 1798) was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédi ...

. The simple whitewashed building has a stage with a fixed scenery consisting of a gallery in the

Tuscan order The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but with u ...

built as a false perspective. It was the intention of the patron and the architect to revive the classical theatre. The busts in the facades were created by the famous French sculptor

Augustin Pajou Augustin Pajou (19 September 1730 – 8 May 1809) was a French sculptor, born in Paris. At eighteen he won the Prix de Rome, and at thirty exhibited his ''Pluton tenant Cerbère enchaîné'' (now in the Louvre). Selected works Pajou's portrait ...

. In the 19th century the entire park was rearranged as an English

. Since 2000 most of the park has been reconstructed in its original 18th-century state.

References

Sources

*Xavier Duquenne, ''Le Château de Seneffe'', Brussels, 1978. *Véronique Bücken, ''Le Château de Seneffe - Centre de l'orfèvrerie de la communauté française'', series: ''Musea Nostra'' Brussels, 2003 edition.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau De Seneffe Houses completed in 1768 Wallonia's Major Heritage

Museums in Hainaut (province) Historic house museums in Belgium Parks in Belgium Neoclassical architecture in Belgium 1768 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire