Tuesday, January 26, 2010

THE CASTLE OF LA HULPE

The Château de La Hulpe, was built by the Marquis of Béthune in around 1840. At the end of the 19th century, Count Ernest Solvay, a wealthy industrialist, acquired the property, which now belongs to Wallonia. Only the grounds, and not the castle itself, are accessible to the public.

The castle's parc is 227 acres big and contains woods and ponds. Almost all types of vegetation and habitats of the region are represented. Both place of refuge, roosting site, feeding, breeding, nesting and migratory stopover for birds, the Domaine Solvay (as it is also called) is perfect for small and large mammals.

The Domaine Solvay and castle host regular shooting of films, serials, television programs and commercials.

You can rent the dining room or living room of the castle to organize dinners, cocktail receptions, seminars, conferences, weddings and other special events.

Today I take you on a visit through the domaine.

The castle from far

The guardians and employees house at the entrance. Not bad, I would like to work there !

and here we go for a long walk ! It takes about 30 min to get to the castle.

the views are so beautiful

approaching the castle

and here it is

Must be nice to have a round room in the tower

and a party here on the terrace (from one side)

and from the other

Nice statues

a wonderful garden

and a breathtaking view from the castle over the domaine

Another view

When I arrived at the horse stables, I read that they had been transformed into a riding school for autistic and other mentally disturbed children. It is called today "Les rennes de la vie" (the reines of life)

from outside

and inside, where I could watch the children

on my way back, the poor geese realized that I didn't have any food and ran away

The end of my promenade

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well thank you for your tour Your Highness...that was wonderful and so were the photos. I loved it :)

Loree said...

Beautiful castle, park and gardens. A great place for a walk.

My name is Riet said...

What a beautiful castle and of the gardens are equally beuatiful Thank you for the tour

Lisa said...

Yes thankyou for that very wonderful and informative tour. Enjoy your day.

LadyFi said...

Wow wow wow - amazing fairytale castle with its own wonderful grounds and maze. And those stables are great too... so nice for the kids to be able to ride.

Gemma Wiseman said...

An absolutely magnificent castle! Incredible style and the grounds are so beautiful! Just a pleasure to see the photos of it! Would love to go there!

Wolynski said...

What a beautiful place - looks like it should be in a movie and, indeed, it has been. And to think that one family used to own all this ( I hope they still don't).

Jossie said...

What a great place. Imagine living there!

Melli said...

Oh! It is GORGEOUS! But... where is the TABLE? I thought I was going to see the TABLE to solve all my problems!

I could definitely handle having that VIEW off my porch! And I'm sure Dennis would LOVE to keep the lawn nicely manicured!

Rajesh said...

Fantastic tour of the place. The castle and the surroundings are breathtakingly beautiful.

Sylvia K said...

What a terrific tour, Gattina! And what a gorgeous place! Your photos are fantastic! And how great for the autistic children to have that horseback riding available to them! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Sylvia

İlhami Uyar said...

I wisited all environment plesurely,thanks a lot,best wishes,stay well

Dr.John said...

I loved this tour. I just love old castles.

Rachel said...

Oh, what a truly beautiful castle and the views and grounds are awesome!! I'd love to visit that place! I did enjoy the tour!!

Marites said...

that's really a nice tour of the castle and its grounds. Love it that you took lots of pictures and they made me feel like i was actually there.

Gracie said...

What an amazing place! Thanks for letting us know about it!

We love Luna said...

What a lovely moment in such a beautiful landscape!
Thanks so much for sharing these pictures.This Castle is magnificent!
purrs and love
Luna and mommy Léia

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I love writing, traveling and photography. . I am German, i live in Waterloo (15 km from Brussels) / Belgium since many years. Waterloo is a famous place to many tourists, because Napoleon lost his battle here against Wellington and other European countries.

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