Castle of Waha

Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium, Belgium

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Castle of Waha (Château de Waha) is a neoclassical country house and castle in the village of Waha, part of the municipality of Marche‑en‑Famenne in the province of Luxembourg, Wallonia, Belgium.

Although a 16th‑century core is mentioned in older accounts, the present building was constructed between 1842 and 1844 for the Lejeune family, with the architect Wéringer (or Méringer) responsible for its design and later enlargements, and it is built of painted brick and blue stone (blauwe steen) in a classical, symmetrical style with three storeys and seven bays, two of which project forward at the sides of the façade.

The château is set on a hillside overlooking the Famenne plain, with a formal layout that includes two dependent buildings arranged perpendicularly at the front, one housing a carport and the other stables, and it is accompanied by a 25‑hectare park and estate, crowned internally by a rare cast‑iron staircase and a family chapel, and externally by a symbolic painted false gate on the dependences’ façades.

The castle and its park have been listed as protected heritage since 2002, and the site is now the main Belgian residence of the Dukes and Princes of Arenberg, although it remains privately owned and not generally open to the public, while the village itself is known for its ancient Romanesque church of Saint‑Étienne, traditionally dated to 1050 and considered the oldest Romanesque church in Belgium.