Beloeil Castle, Beloeil, Belgium

Belœil château has been the residence of the Prince de Ligne since the 14th century. The château lies in the middle of a magnificent Baroque garden designed in 1664. The château and gardens can be visited during spring and summer.

Belœil became possession of the Ligne family in 1394. At the beginning of the 15th century the local castle was chosen as the principal residence of the family. The old castle was a fortified rectangular building with a moat surrounding it and had four round towers, one at each angle. This basic structure is still preserved, although the facades and interiors were greatly altered during the following centuries.

From 1664 onward the park, with its straight alleys, geometrical ponds and imposing perspectives was created. The typical bosquets - garden chambers enclosed by high hedges - were preserved in spite of the changing fashion in the 18th and 19th centuries when English landscape gardens were preferred. A small landscape garden with a 'ruin' was installed in the direct vicinity of the château by Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne.

The fortified castle was adapted into a luxurious country house following the French example. The interiors were appointed with fine furniture and the art collections of the family. During the New Year's celebrations of 1900, disaster struck the castle when it burned down completely. Most of the furnishings, including the library of 20,000 rare volumes and the art collection, were saved. The castle was rebuilt in the following years by the French architect Ernest Sanson, while the interiors were redecorated using pieces from the Ligne collection.

References:

Wikipedia

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Yvon Wilputte (2 years ago)
And there you have it, in 2 or 3 years, the malt house will be closed, all for money, selling to the French is death.

Gregory Breuse (3 years ago)
No comment, long live the orientation of the wind!! You have to call the fire department or the police to understand where the strange smells come from some nights

Dhondt patrick (3 years ago)
very good

olivie theo (4 years ago)
Super pleasant and helpful

Gregory Breuse (5 years ago)
Super ,vive l orientation du vent

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Church of St Donatus