The Domain Château Frandeux

The Domain of Château Frandeux is situated on the outskirts of the Belgian Ardennes, in the region "Les Famennes" and belongs to the province of Namur in Wallonia. The area is alo called "the Valley Country", a land with castles and a rich and varied heritage. The village of Frandeux is formed by some 40 houses and is situated in the valley of the Vachau, about 6 km from Rochefort.

The Domain is located in a tranquil nature reserve. On the Domain are two water present: a small lake, an idyllic location in the forest with an overflow to the lake, where the Chateau is situated. The lake is excellent for swimming. Adjoining the lake is 25 acres of private forest with a beautiful river valley where you can walk freely and enjoy what the seasons have to offer. In the area there are lots of wildlife, including wild boar and deer. There are beautiful old beech and oak trees and there are two open spaces (fields) in the forest.

Through a wrought iron gate leads a beautiful, circular driveway you to the Château. This Anglo-Norman-style estate is characterized by many little development and a typical slate roofing.

It is located adjacent to a square farmhouse, two flanks renovated: the Écurie (former stables) and the Boulangerie (the former home bakery).

The first evidence

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The first evidence of habitation are dated from the 6th and 7th century. Some fundamentals in the present cellar are dated from the 12th century. In that time the nobleman Wery de Frandeux built here his castle. The estate belonged to the county and lordship of Rochefort. Between the 13th and 15th century, the bishops of Liège (Catholic Church) were in charge in this part of the region, Les Famennes, and gave the Castle and estates to the nobles, who were loyal to them, in loan. By 1500 the former monastery came under the control of the Abbey of St. Hubert. From 1650, the Court of Frandeux had the power to lower courts, which was in progress until 1930.

In that year, the building burned down, (there are indications that between the moment of foundation till 1930 approx 7x a new building was built on the old foundations

1930 - 1933

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In the period 1930 - 1933 the present building has been built partly on the foundations of the 12th century. It was meant as a family home for a noble family. It is not clear to which family it belonged. The noble family \''the Crawhez the Spa’ has purchased the property, at that time with700 haland, in 1933 and lived here with 5 kids until 1980. Some descendants of this family still live near the Château. The family of mother\''s side (the graves of Straeten) was very comprehensive. During the holidays the Château was filled with up to 30 relatives.

From 2000

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In 2001, this small estate was sold to shareholders of the spa resort "De Schouw" from the province of Zeeland in the Netherland with the intention to organize an extra place for extending their activities. After a exhaustive renovation, they organized fasting cure activities over 6 months. In 2003 the estate, with three wings of the castle farm, was sold to Velo Beheer BV.

In 2006 and 2007 two wings of the castle farm have been renovated: the Écurie and the Boulangerie, so that at this moment the total capacity for group accommodation is enlarged up to 80 people.

The mound

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The mound, a small hill opposite the main entrance of the Château, dates from the 1st century BC or the 1st century AC. This information we received in 2005 from Monsieur Desnaux of the Monuments Department of Namur during his first visit to Château Frandeux. In Belgium and at the French and British coasts there are more of these hills. They are made by humans, they are not burial mounds. On the flat top are standing in a circle 8 lime or 8 oak trees. There is an assumption that it were Celtic power places, because often a monastery or castle was built near a mound. Similarly to Frandeux.

Organisation

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The independent company 'Château Frandeux du Coeur SPRL’ is a subsidiary of the management company Velo Beheer BV.

The board is formed by the directors and shareholders of the management company. From idealistic consideration one of the shareholders has started in 2003 with the renovation of the Domain.

Durability

The sustainable management of our environment is an important principle in the design of our policies. We choose as many products that are emanating from the Cradle to Cradle principle or at least recyclable. We select the products we use on damaging the environment, and we prefer to provide from local suppliers. Waste is collected separately and paper consumption is restricted to a minimum.

The Écurie and Boulangerie are renovated with predominantly renewable materials (such as certified timber) and ecological (no lead, copper and zinc in contact with water). Heating is via solar collectors and a ‘heat recovery device’ system. On cloudy, cold days the buildings are additionally heated with gas. The toilets are flushed with collected rainwater.

All buildings are not connected to the normal drain system. The waste water is gradually going through a purification system in the ground, and is transformed into clean water. Because this system is very fragile, we only use eco-products in the kitchen, showers and toilets.

During the renovation of the rooms in the Château's Cradle to Cradle carpet is applied, there ecological paint is used and the rooms are decorated with mostly used materials. We are also working on our illumination: where it needs to be replaced, we use LED lamps.