Ciergnon Castle, or the Royal Castle of Ciergnon (Château Royal de Ciergnon; Koninklijk kasteel van Ciergnon) is a residence and summer retreat of the

Belgian Royal Family Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's ...

situated near the town of Ciergnon in the municipality of

Houyet Houyet () is a municipality of Wallonia in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 4,485 inhabitants. The total area is 122.31 km², giving a population density of 37 inhabitants per km². The municipality con ...

province of Namur Namur (; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the West) on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and the French depart ...

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 ...

. The castle is a property of the Belgian Royal Trust.

History

The domain with its woods, river and vast hunting grounds was acquired in 1840 by King

Leopold I of Belgium * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Loui ...

at the request of his spouse Queen

Louise-Marie Louise-Marie or Louise Marie may refer to: * Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon (1753-1821), daughter and heiress of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre * Louise Marie Adélaïde Eugènie d'Orléans (1777-1847), daughter of Louis Philip ...

. At first a hunting lodge was erected on a beautiful terrace overlooking a deep forested valley. The present

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 ...

was erected later by King

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

. The edifice was designed by his court architect

Alphonse Balat Alphonse Hubert François Balat (15 May 1818 – 16 September 1895) was a Belgian architect. Life Balat was born in Gochenée. He studied at the Academie of Namur and obtained his degree in architecture from the Academy of Antwerp in 1838. ...

. Since then it has always served as a holiday retreat to the Royal Family. In 1960 it was the venue for the press presentation of King Baudouin's fiancé Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon. More recently the children of

Philippe, King of the Belgians french: Philippe Léopold Louis Mariegerman: Philipp Leopold Ludwig Maria , house = Belgium , father = Albert II of Belgium , mother = Paola Ruffo di Calabria , birth_date = , birth_place = Belvédère Castle, Laeken, B ...

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant ( nl, Elisabeth Theresia Maria Helena; french: Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène; born 25 October 2001) is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. The eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathild ...

, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore were baptised in the chapel of the château. The Royal Family also owned other castles in the direct vicinity of Ciergnon. Fenffe Castle is still in use as a holiday retreat by the royal family.

Ardenne Castle The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

was, according to the wish of King Leopold II, converted into a luxury hotel. It was closed after

World War II 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 ...

and destroyed by fire in 1968.

References

Belgium Royal Family
;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau royal de Ciergnon Royal residences in Belgium Ciergnon Ciergnon

History

See also

References