Royal Castle of Ciergnon

Belgium, Belgium

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The Royal Castle of Ciergnon (ChâteauRoyal de Ciergnon) is a residence and summer retreat of the Belgian royal family located near the village of Ciergnon in the municipality of Houyet, in the province of Namur, Wallonia, Belgium.

The estate was first acquired in 1840 by King Leopold I at the request of his wife, Queen Louise‑Marie, initially to build a hunting lodge in the wooded, river‑rich landscape of the Ardennes foothills. Under King Leopold II, the existing hunting pavilion was transformed into the present neo‑Gothic château by architect Alphonse Balat.

The castle and its surrounding woods, rivers, and hunting grounds form part of the Belgian Royal Trust (the “Royal Donation”), are not open to the public, and are perched on a promontory overlooking the valley of the Lesse river, giving the estate a secluded and strategic position in the Belgian Ardennes.