Faing Castle

Faing Castle, locally known as Château du Faing, lies in the village of Jamoigne, in the province of Luxembourg in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

The first fortification at this site was a castle built during the 12th century. In the 14th century, another castle was constructed. The family that owned it would become known as the Faing family in the 15th century.

In 1452, Hugues, Lord of Faing and Breu, was appointed general by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Hugues fought for the Duke in the Battle of Montbéliard in 1473. In 1478, he fought for the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, against William I de La Marck, the 'Wild Boar of the Ardennes'. Hugues died in 1480 as the Governor of Luxembourg.

It is said that Henri du Faing, the eldest son of Hugues, entertained Nostradamus, the famous French astrologer, at Faing Castle in 1539. Gilles du Faing, a diplomat serving Philip II of Spain and both the Archduke of Austria, Albert VII, and his wife Isabella Clara Eugenia, owned the castle in the first quarter of the 17th century. The House of Faing held the castle until 1709, when the family died out.

Over the next two centuries, the castle fell into disrepair. Its condition was so poor that it was completely rebuilt, resembling its original appearance, by architect Pierre Van Kerkhoven for Count Fernand de Loen d’Enschedé between 1872 and 1880.

The castle was acquired by the congregation of the Sisters of Mercy from Besançon in 1903. During the start of World War I, they cared for hundreds of wounded soldiers, notably from the Battle of Rossignol. During World War II, the castle was used as a home for the children of imprisoned Belgian soldiers. 87 Jewish children were saved from deportation by being registered under false identities as non-Jewish and housed here.

Today, Faing Castle houses the municipal administration of Chiny, of which Jamoigne is now a part. Its exterior can be freely visited. A beautiful castle.

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