The Royal Castle of Ciergnon (; ) or Ciergnon Castle (; ) is a residence and summer retreat of the

Belgian royal family The monarchy of Belgium is the constitutional and hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/queen of the Belgians and serves as the ...

situated near the town of Ciergnon in the municipality of

Houyet Houyet () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 4,485 inhabitants. The total area is 122.31 km², giving a population density of 37 ...

Namur Province Namur (; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the West) on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut Province, Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège Province, Liège and Luxembourg ...

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

. The castle is a property of the Belgian Royal Trust.

History

The domain with its woods, river and vast hunting grounds was acquired in 1840 by King Leopold I at the request of his spouse Queen Louise-Marie. At first, a hunting lodge was erected on a beautiful terrace overlooking a deep forested valley. The present

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

was erected later by King Leopold II. The edifice was designed by his court architect Alphonse Balat. Since then, the château has always served as a holiday retreat to the

. In 1960, it was the venue for the press presentation of King Baudouin's fiancé Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon. More recently, the children of King Philippe—

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (born 25 October 2001), is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. The child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, she was elevated to the dukedom after her grandfather Albert II abdicated on 21 July ...

, Prince

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore—were baptised in the château's chapel. The royal family also owned other castles and châteaux in the direct vicinity of Ciergnon. Fenffe Castle is still in use as a holiday retreat by the royal family. The Royal Château of Ardenne was, according to the wish of Leopold II, converted into a luxury hotel. It was closed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and destroyed by fire in 1968.

References

External links

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Belgium Royal Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau royal de Ciergnon 1842 establishments in Belgium Houses completed in 1842 Royal residences in Belgium Ciergnon Ciergnon Leopold I of Belgium Royal Castle of Ciergnon

History

See also

References

External links