MOULIN BANAL MILL AND CASTLE OF BRAINE LE CHATEAU

Not very far from where I live I discovered this old mill which dates from the 18th century and has recently become a tourist attraction.

The mill as we see it today is made of arkose stone and local brick. The buildings have been redesigned and enlarged in the eighteenth century (a beam inside the mill is dated from 1777). It has been  restored in 1972 and also became a museum of milling. It still has a paddle wheel that activates a mechanism which is in very good condition.











The mill seen from the front



This stone ring lay in front of the entrance




The back



The turning wheel made a lot of noise !



From the bridge you could see the water rushing down and came out on the other side






The mill was surrounded by beautiful green fields and from very far I saw some donkeys.



Opposite the fields I discovered a castle when I was looking through the woods.

Of course it made me curious and I looked for the entrance which was a little further down the mill.

The castle belonged for 232 yeards to the counts of Hornes. The origin of the castle dates back to the 12th century. Its oldest part is the dungeon which has 2.10 m thick walls. Ever since the castle has had several faceliftigs over the centuries.

In 1835 the count Rubiano bought the castle. He was the ancestor of the current owner Count Cornet de Ways Rauart. The last person who lived in this castle was the 90 year old countess who died in 1998. None of the 3 children wants to live in there anymore. Only one apartment is still used by the family for holiday purposes. Today it's impossible to keep such a castle without  allowing paying visitors to come and see how the nobles once lived.




It looked already very imposing from far



and even more at a closer look



On the facade the date is written but one number is missing. it probably should be 1684 or 6.



The gate



One of the dongeons



view from one side



and the other





The castle is surrounded by a very beautiful and well kept park




The stables



 and even an old swimming pool from better times was there



The house of the guards.

TRAM MUSEUM OF THUIN

 July 7, 2015

We made an excursion to the tram museum in Thuin. 

The Vicinal Historic Tramway Discovery Centre, is a museum housing thirty tramcars which once ran for the SNCV (National Light Railway Company). It houses a steam engine from 1888 and the oldest completely electric tramcar, built in Belgium in 1901. A rural tram route is operated by enthusiastic volunteers, using vehicles which retrace the history of the world's larges tram network.



The tram museum



Trams of the 70th



and older once



I suppose this wagon was for luggages






I still remember this tram I took beginning the 60th to go to school. Only in Brussels they were yellow.




The seats are in wood



A driver cabin











views from out of the tram

We made a trip through the streets of Thuin, across a bridge over the river Sambre and through the countryside which offered unique views you couldn't see from a car.

We enjoyed our trip in these old trams very much. For me it was a trip into the past !



Today in Brussels the trams look like this !