Thierry Castle

Thierry Castle, locally known as Château de Thierry, lies in the woods west of the of Falmignoul, on a high rocky plateau overlooking the Meuse river valley, in the province of Namur in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

The first castle here was owned by Thierry, Lord of Faing. With his castle, he protected the Waulsort Abbey on the other side of the river. Nothing remains of that first castle.

The oldest parts of the current ruins date back to just before 1262, as proven by archaeological excavations. This castle was probably built by Gilles de Rochefort and his wife Héluide de Faing.

Their reason for calling the castle "Thierry" was likely threefold: she was the wealthy heir of her father Thierry de Faing, who died in 1218; Gilles became Lord of Rochefort and Walcourt thanks to his father, also named Thierry, who transferred all his rights to him when leaving for a crusade; and Gilles and Héluide's son was named Thierry.

In 1221, Héluide left the protection of the Waulsort and Hastière abbeys to her husband. Over the years, the castle and its lands changed hands several times, passing through the families of Looze de Agimonts, Boulans, Brandebourgs, and Spontins de Freyr.

Thierry Castle never served as the main residence for any of these families; they only used it to benefit from the abbeys they protected and to rob merchants traveling down the Meuse River.

The ruins of Thierry Castle are fenced off, so access is restricted. However, the walk to the ruins, along a forest trail, is worth the trip. Inside, you'll find a well, several stretches of cobblestone floors, and remnants of an oven. There is also a stunning view over the river valley.

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