Château des Amerois

Château des Amerois
Royal Château of Amerois, c. 1890
Map
General information
TypeChâteau
Architectural styleGothic Revival
CountryBelgium
Coordinates49°44′54″N 5°09′04″E / 49.748454°N 5.151091°E / 49.748454; 5.151091
Construction started1874 (1874)
Completed1877 (1877)

The Château des Amerois (French pronunciation: [ʃɑto dez‿amʁwa]) is a 19th-century neo-Gothic style château in the Ardennes forest, south-east of Bouillon, Wallonia, Belgium. Replacing an original building destroyed by fire, the current château was built from 1874 to 1877 for Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders.

History

The domain was originally purchased in 1849 by the Count of Mesniel, who acquired land to build a manor house. In 1859, the property was purchased by Theodore van der Noot, 8th Marquess of Assche. Ten years later, the property was sold to Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, the brother of King Leopold II.

After a fire destroyed this first manor house in 1873, Prince Philippe commissioned the architect Gustave Saintenoy to build a replacement. The chapel received special attention and received polychromes by the painter Jules Helbig.[1] The park houses redwoods and a 158-metre-long (518 ft) bower. Thousands of plant and flower species were grown in several greenhouses. Prince Philippe also planned sumptuous stables. Passionate about hunting, he spent several months a year at the château.[2] His wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, made sketches and watercolours.[3]

When Prince Philippe died in 1905, his three children inherited the château and sold it to the Liège wood merchant Robert Colette for 7 million Belgian francs. He cut down practically all the trees and resold the property three years later to Alice Solvay, the niece of Ernest Solvay. Nowadays, the estate still belongs to her descendants.[4]

During the First World War, a patrol of German soldiers commanded by Lt. Wolf-Werner von Blumenthal of the 2nd Reserve Heavy Cavalry occupied the château, which left it without major damage, except in the wine cellar.[5]

  • The royal carriages in front of Florenville railway station
    The royal carriages in front of Florenville railway station
  • The large living room on the ground floor
    The large living room on the ground floor
  • The Winter Garden
    The Winter Garden

Residents

See also

References

  1. ^ "Helbig, Jules [Chrétien Charles Joseph Henri]". Dictionary of Art Historians. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013.
  2. ^ Damien Bilteryst (2014), Philippe Comte de Flandre, Frère de Léopold II, blz. 217
  3. ^ Baudouin D'Hoore, Inventaris van het archief van prinses Marie van Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Gravin van Vlaanderen (1794-1850) 1852-1912
  4. ^ a b c Meuwissen, Eric (19 July 1996). "Les Amerois: des Flandre aux Solvay" [Les Amerois: from Flanders to Solvay]. Le Soir (in French).
  5. ^ Antoine Laurenty (2003), Les carnets d'un citoyen belge. 1914-1918, blz. 79