Château de Brialmont

Belgium, Belgium

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The Château de Brialmont is a historic castle and former abbey in the village of Tilff, part of the municipality of Esneux, in the province of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, standing on a high rocky perch that overlooks the Ourthe valley and the picturesque village below.

It was originally built in the 13th century by the knight Eustache de Hamal, became a strong place and oratory, and later passed through the families of Brialmont, Mélotte de Lavaux and Otreppe de Bouvette, before being rebuilt on its 13th‑century foundations as a large U‑shaped château.

In 1961 the château was given to a community of Cistercian (Trappistine) sisters, who transformed it into the Abbey of Notre‑Dame de Brialmont in 1975; the abbey now includes a new abbey church consecrated in 1981, a mushroom farm and a small shop that sells products made by the sisters (such as mushroom preparations, chestnut honey, Trappist beers and cheeses, religious books, jams and other items), and it is inhabited by about twenty monastic women who live a life of prayer and manual work.

The domain, set in a park of about six hectares, also hosts three museums: the Museum of the Principality of Stavelot‑Malmedy, the Spa‑Francorchamps Circuit Museum and the Guillaume Apollinaire Museum, and the site is a popular cultural and tourist attraction in the Herve country, combining the architecture of a medieval and later château, the atmosphere of a working abbey, and permanent exhibitions of local and international interest.