Solvay Castle (french: Château Solvay, also called ''Château de La Hulpe''), is a
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
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 ...
in the municipality of
La Hulpe
La Hulpe (; nl, Terhulpen, ; wa, L’ Elpe) is a municipality of Wallonia in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, 20 km south-east of the centre of Brussels, but only about 3 km from the edge of the Brussels-Capital Region. On Janua ...
,
Walloon Brabant
Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...
,
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 ...
.
Completed for the Marquis Maximilien de Béthune as an imposing manor house on the outskirts of Brussels in the 1840s, the castle stands on a hill overlooking a lake set in a park with mature trees covering more than 220 hectares. In 1893, the estate was purchased by the rich industrialist
Ernest Solvay
Ernest Gaston Joseph Solvay (; 16 April 1838 – 26 May 1922) was a Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist.
Born in Rebecq, he was prevented by his acute pleurisy from going to university. He worked in his uncle's chemical factor ...
, who renovated the park and extensively remodeled the castle from its initial Flemish neo-Renaissance theme to a more elegant look with a French formal garden.
The remainder of the farm was designed in a charming English theme, with rhododendrons, azaleas and forest of a number of species, including huge redwoods and oak trees. A broad lake was built with planned alleyways and vantage points providing a views of the forests. The entire property was given to the Regional Government of Wallonia in 1968 on the basis that it should be used for educational purposes.
There are three five kilometers of walks on the property.
After the donation of the property to the government, the government allowed the Belgian Artist Jean-Michel Folon to open a museum in the park in 2000. After the artist died in 2005 it became The Fondation Folon. Inside the park is a non-profit organization, an equestrian center specialized in the relation between disabled persons and horses. Different events have been organized throughout the year in the park. As an example, in August 2019 the Supertramp musician Roger Hodgson made a concert in the park to celebrate the 40 years of the Supertramp album "Breakfast in America".
See also
*
List of castles in Belgium
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
External links
Opt.be: Solvay Estate and the Castle of La Hulpe
*(https://fondationfolon.be/fondation-parent/fondation/#)
* (http://chateaudelahulpe.be/domaine/en/home)
Parks in Belgium
Castles in Belgium
Castles in Walloon Brabant
La Hulpe
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