Fontaine Castle

Fontaine Castle, locally known as Château de Fontaine, lies in a forest south of the village of Anthée, in the province of Namur in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Fontaine Castle was first built during the 13th century, near the intersection of the main road from Namur to Luxembourg and the road from Dinant to Liège. It was the seat of the seignory of Fontaine, which held the villages of Anthée, Morville and Miavoye, a territory dependent on the County of Namur and Agimont and attached to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. In 1289 it was owned by a Lady Yde de Fontaine.

In the 16th and 17th century the present castle was built, incorporating the remnant of its medieval predecessor. The square tower on the northeast corner is from the Middle Ages. The buildings around the outer courtyard were built in the 17th century and used for farming.

In 1840 it was sold by the family of Jacquier de Rosée to the Count of Ribiano. His daughter Jeanne married Baron Gustave de Senzeille. But having had no children, she later left it to Count Fernand de Beaufort. Fernand sold the castle in 1907 to Viscount Eugène de Jonghe. Between 1907 and 1909 he had Fontaine Castle restored in a neo-traditional style, which raised the towers and added more windows.

At present the castle domain is private property and some years ago all the buildings were converted into several luxury apartments. Must be fantastic to live there...

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