19.7 km | 26 km-effort
A few hundred metres to your right are the woods of the Royal Trust.
They encompass the Royal Golf Club of the ����Château Royal d’Ardennes’ (private property), with its famous Léopold Tower, built in 1843 on the model of the tower in Windsor Park.
The district of Houyet is often referred to as the “royal district” due to its rich royal past and because the village of Ciergnon hosts the royal castle, a residence assigned to the use of the current ruling family.
It was Léopold II–known as the Builder King–who had the royal castle of the Ardennes built in 1874 in Houyet, in the beautiful park of the domain of the Ardennes. This castle became a reference for the royalty and a hot spot for tourism. A park with ponds was created and Léopold II managed to turn the domain into ‘the place to be’ for his rich Ostend clientele who liked to organize their hunting parties there.
After the construction of the railroad between Gendron-Celles and Houyet in 1896, a train station was built, the "royal stop of the Ardennes", to welcome the members of the European aristocracy and other eminent guests to the castle converted into a luxury hotel.
A round wall adjoining the railroad was built, surmounted by a crenellated turret.
The wall indicates the road that leads to the castle through the woods. In the 1970’s, several buildings belonging to the domain were destroyed, but the “train station” remained intact.
The station was closed in 1919, as the luxury hotel had closed down after being severely damaged during the First World War. In 1921, the hotel was reopened, but the station remained definitively closed.
The castle was pillaged during the First World War, then rehabilitated as of 1921 before becoming prosperous once again (200 luxury rooms, a golf course, etc.). After the second German occupation, it closed its doors once again and in August of 1968, a fire broke out in the castle, burning practically everything in its wake. Before his death, Léopold II donated the domain to the state for it to be preserved.
Walking
Randonnées de la Maison du Tourisme Famenne - Ardenne Ourthe & Lesse PRO
