Chateau de Haltinne

Gesves, Belgium, Belgium

---

Château de Haltinne is a large 17th-century fortified farmhouse in the village of Haltinne, part of the municipality of Gesves in the province of Namur, Belgium, standing in a typically Condroz landscape of woods, fields and meadows.

It was built between 1635 and 1647 for Gérard de Groesbeek, future prince-bishop of Liège, on the older estate known as the cense des Fossés, and after two fires in 1674 and 1684 it was rebuilt and gradually enlarged, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, transforming from a working farm into a more residential château.

The building is a massive square block of limestone and brick with two main storeys, four corner square towers of three storeys, and a central courtyard surrounded by moats fed by the Struviaux stream and fed in turn by several ponds on the estate, giving it the appearance of a defensive castle though its function was agricultural and seigneurial rather than military.

The château and its extensive grounds, covering almost 280 hectares, are officially listed as a monument and as part of the exceptional heritage of Wallonia; the interior stone staircase, with its extraordinarily wide steps and statues of the four seasons, is especially celebrated, while the iron entrance gate, originally intended for King Leopold II at Ciergnon, adds a royal link to the site.