Ardenne Castle or the Royal Castle of Ardenne (French: Château Royal d'Ardenne, Dutch: Koninklijk Kasteel van Ardenne, formerly also spelled "Hardenne") was a former residence and summer retreat of the Belgian royal family situated in the municipality of Houyet, Namur Province, Wallonia. It served as a luxury hotel from 1891 to 1949 and burned down in 1969.
Leopold Tower, remains of the vast castle (1878)The former train station Halte royale d'Ardenne as it was in 1990
Royal residenceedit
On 21 March 1837, King Leopold I bought 708 hectares (1,750 acres) of land called "Terre d'Hardenne et de Férage". In this domain, crossed by the Lesse and the Ywoigne, he had a rock tower built (1843) and extended an existing hunting lodge with two towers. In the same period, the king also started the construction of a country house a few kilometers away: the Royal Castle of Ciergnon.
After the enthronement, King Leopold II had his father's manor demolished in 1874 to make way for the new Château Royal d'Ardenne. The building by his court architect Alphonse Balat was completed in 1891. The gardens were created by the French landscape architect Elie Lainé.
Hoteledit
Even before he could really use the castle, Leopold completely changed his mind. Instead of a royal country house, Ardenne would become a luxury hotel with 140 rooms. The Royal Castle of Ardenne was an attractive destination that would promote tourism for the bourgeoisie to the Ardennes. In 1897–98, a hotel building was erected according to plans by Alban Chambon. It was called annexe but was not less sumptuous than the main building. Each room had unparalleled comfort: a bathroom, running water, electric lighting and even a telephone. The hotel then also got its own station on railway line 166: the Halte royale d'Ardenne. The country's first golf course was also built there.
The hotel was initially managed by Colonel James North. After his death in 1898, it was leased to the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels (CIGH), daughter of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL). After the dissolution of the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels (1907), Colonel Alexis Mols took over the lease. The operation was interrupted by the death of Leopold II in 1909. As a result, the domain, which then already counted 4,200 hectares, ended up in the Belgian Royal Trust. The hotel was briefly closed but reopened in 1912. In that year, on the advice of King Albert I, Mols had founded the Hôtel du Château d'Ardenne à Houyet, which in turn entrusted the operation to the company Les Grands Hôtels Belges, with Georges Marquet as the prominent figure.
Warsedit
During World War I, the hotel suffered from marauding troops (first French, then German). It was not reopened until 1920. The number of rooms was expanded to 200 (1927) and the domain got its own airport (1929). Damage in World War II was even worse than the first. Joachim von Ribbentrop housed his headquarters there. After the liberation, the domain was the command post of the American Fifteenth Army, who, however, evacuated it during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, German prisoners of war worked on the domain for some time. The Elleboudt-Lemineur couple kept it open for another four years after the war, but the market for luxury tourism from France and England appeared to have dried up. The curtain finally fell in 1949. The furniture was sold to the public (1950) and the rock tower became the club house of the Royal Golf Club du Château Royal d'Ardenne.
Fireedit
The castle itself stood empty all this time and burned down in 1968 while roofing was being carried out on behalf of the Royal Trust. The garden sculptures were transferred to the Park of Laeken in Brussels (including Thomas Vinçotte's Seahorses) and the ruins were cleared in the 1970s. Although Chambon's outbuilding had not suffered any damage, it was also demolished. The rock tower was blown up in 1975, so the Leopold Tower is all that remains. It serves as a club house to the Royal Golf Club du Château Royal d'Ardenne.
château, royal, ardenne, ardenne, castle, royal, castle, ardenne, french, château, royal, ardenne, dutch, koninklijk, kasteel, ardenne, formerly, also, spelled, hardenne, former, residence, summer, retreat, belgian, royal, family, situated, municipality, houye. Ardenne Castle or the Royal Castle of Ardenne French Chateau Royal d Ardenne Dutch Koninklijk Kasteel van Ardenne formerly also spelled Hardenne was a former residence and summer retreat of the Belgian royal family situated in the municipality of Houyet Namur Province Wallonia It served as a luxury hotel from 1891 to 1949 and burned down in 1969 Ardenne Castle in 1898 Contents 1 History 1 1 Royal residence 1 2 Hotel 1 3 Wars 1 4 Fire 2 See also 3 External linksHistory edit nbsp Leopold Tower remains of the vast castle 1878 nbsp The former train station Halte royale d Ardenne as it was in 1990 Royal residence edit On 21 March 1837 King Leopold I bought 708 hectares 1 750 acres of land called Terre d Hardenne et de Ferage In this domain crossed by the Lesse and the Ywoigne he had a rock tower built 1843 and extended an existing hunting lodge with two towers In the same period the king also started the construction of a country house a few kilometers away the Royal Castle of Ciergnon After the enthronement King Leopold II had his father s manor demolished in 1874 to make way for the new Chateau Royal d Ardenne The building by his court architect Alphonse Balat was completed in 1891 The gardens were created by the French landscape architect Elie Laine Hotel edit Even before he could really use the castle Leopold completely changed his mind Instead of a royal country house Ardenne would become a luxury hotel with 140 rooms The Royal Castle of Ardenne was an attractive destination that would promote tourism for the bourgeoisie to the Ardennes In 1897 98 a hotel building was erected according to plans by Alban Chambon It was called annexe but was not less sumptuous than the main building Each room had unparalleled comfort a bathroom running water electric lighting and even a telephone The hotel then also got its own station on railway line 166 the Halte royale d Ardenne The country s first golf course was also built there The hotel was initially managed by Colonel James North After his death in 1898 it was leased to the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels CIGH daughter of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons Lits CIWL After the dissolution of the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels 1907 Colonel Alexis Mols took over the lease The operation was interrupted by the death of Leopold II in 1909 As a result the domain which then already counted 4 200 hectares ended up in the Belgian Royal Trust The hotel was briefly closed but reopened in 1912 In that year on the advice of King Albert I Mols had founded the Hotel du Chateau d Ardenne a Houyet which in turn entrusted the operation to the company Les Grands Hotels Belges with Georges Marquet as the prominent figure Wars edit During World War I the hotel suffered from marauding troops first French then German It was not reopened until 1920 The number of rooms was expanded to 200 1927 and the domain got its own airport 1929 Damage in World War II was even worse than the first Joachim von Ribbentrop housed his headquarters there After the liberation the domain was the command post of the American Fifteenth Army who however evacuated it during the Battle of the Bulge After the war German prisoners of war worked on the domain for some time The Elleboudt Lemineur couple kept it open for another four years after the war but the market for luxury tourism from France and England appeared to have dried up The curtain finally fell in 1949 The furniture was sold to the public 1950 and the rock tower became the club house of the Royal Golf Club du Chateau Royal d Ardenne Fire edit The castle itself stood empty all this time and burned down in 1968 while roofing was being carried out on behalf of the Royal Trust The garden sculptures were transferred to the Park of Laeken in Brussels including Thomas Vincotte s Seahorses and the ruins were cleared in the 1970s Although Chambon s outbuilding had not suffered any damage it was also demolished The rock tower was blown up in 1975 so the Leopold Tower is all that remains It serves as a club house to the Royal Golf Club du Chateau Royal d Ardenne See also editList of castles in BelgiumExternal links editLe Chateau Royal d Ardenne a Houyet Book from Henri Lemineur in French and Dutch Royal Golf Club du Chateau Royal d Ardenne www destinationgolf be 50 12 N 5 01 E 50 2 N 5 01 E 50 2 5 01 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chateau royal d 27Ardenne amp oldid 1216880603, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
