Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Castle

Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Castle, locally known as Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne, lies next to the town with the same name, in the province of Namur in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

The castle dates back to the first half of the 15th century when it was built by the Berlo family. It was built on a swampy plain near the small Wimbe river (an affluent of the river Lesse).

In 1450 the keep was built and some years later the castle was strengthened by Jean II de Berlo. Local history has it that he went on crusade in 1453 to free Constantinople of the Turks, but he took so long getting there that he arrived too late.

In 1464 the castle was besieged by the citizens of Dinant. They could not take the castle.

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.

During the French Revolution the castle was abandoned and fell to ruin.

In 1934 the castle was bought by a baroness Lemonnier followed by the "Friends of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Castle"-foundation who restored the castle to its present glory.

Since 1958 the castle houses a museum dedicated to the hunt. Well, hunting may be your cup of tea but it certainly isn't mine. I found it quite depressing, all those stuffed animals. But, who am I? To visit the castle you have to pay a small fee after which you can roam all its rooms on your own. This is a stylish castle with a very French feel to it. Worth a visit.

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