The Castle of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne is located in Wallonia near Rochefort. In 1244 Jacques de Wellin de la Vaux built a simple tower in order to monitor the Bavay-Nassogne Roman road at the request of Andage Abbey (now Saint-Hubert). In 1450, Jean II de Berlo commissioned the building of the current castle, initially with three great towers connected by curtain walls. The fourth tower is built in 1500.
In 1630 the castle was bought by the baron Jacques-Renard de Rouveroy, an infantry colonel in the service of Emperor Ferndinand III. Because of the evolution of war tactics the castle's defenses were rendered useless. So he turned it into a country mansion. He took down one curtain wall and remodeled the facade of the inner courtyard into Italian baroque. He also covered the castle in red bricks and added the bulbous roofs.
In 1796 local revolutionaries destroyed the chateau. The banners are removed from the roofs and the coats of arms are attacked with hammers. In 1933 the estate was donated to the non-profit organisation Les Amis du Château de Lavaux-Sainte-Anne created by Baroness Lemonnier, who fully finances the restoration of the site. Today, it is a open to the public.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.