Château de Chimay

Chimay, Belgium, Belgium

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Château de Chimay is a historic castle in the town of Chimay in the Hainaut province of Wallonia, Belgium, traditionally the home of the Princes of Chimay and open to visitors for part of the year.

The site originally held a Carolingian villa and church in the 9th century and gradually developed into a fortified stronghold, later becoming the seat of the County and then the Principality of Chimay, which was elevated to a principality by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1486.

Over the centuries the castle passed through prominent families such as the Croÿs, who transformed it into a sumptuous palace around 1600, but it suffered severe damage from wars, sieges and fires, and was largely destroyed by a devastating fire in 1935 before being rebuilt and renovated by the Riquet de Caraman family, descendants of whom still own and live in the castle today.