Castle of La Hulpe - History

Originally, the estate was an integral part of the Soignes Forest. In 1833, Marquis Maximilien de Béthune purchased 341 hectares of forest, which he partially cleared to create a park. He built three gatehouses and two farms, then began the construction of the castle (completed in 1842), which he entrusted to the French architect Jean-Jacques Nicolas Arveuf-Fransquin and the Belgian Jean-François Coppens.

Set atop the hill, in the highly favored Flemish neo-Renaissance style of the time, the castle, adorned with red bricks and natural stone lines, is flanked by four towers and four turrets. The marshy land at the bottom of the hill is transformed into a pond.

From 1871 to 1893, the estate became the property of Baron Antoine de Roest d'Alkemade, who expanded it to the south to its current limits by acquiring meadows, the banks of the Argentina, and the Nysdam ponds.

In 1893, industrialist Ernest Solvay, founder of the international company "Solvay & Co," purchased the property to make it his summer residence. He entrusted Victor Horta with the task of redesigning the interior arrangements of the castle. A terrace was created at the front, topped with a glass marquee supported by cast-iron columns. Ernest Solvay redeveloped the park and further enlarged the estate, reaching 490 hectares by 1920.

Ernest Solvay bequeathed his assets during his lifetime to his children. The estate of La Hulpe was divided between his two sons, Edmond who received the northern part and Armand, the elder, who received the castle and the lower part of the property, which together constitute the current Solvay estate.
Armand Solvay and then his son, Ernest-John, undertook significant changes to the estate, giving it its current configuration.

Architect Georges Collin considerably altered the appearance of the castle. The turrets, the central bell tower, and the marquee were removed, the spires of the towers were shortened, and the red brick was covered with a light coating.

Ernest-John had a belvedere built, accessible by a staircase of 140 steps. A French garden was created on one side of the castle. Facing the main façade, a straight grassy pathway of 800 meters through the forest ends with a 36-meter high obelisk topped with a golden sun. He had exotic species planted that are still present today.

Worried about the prospect of future fragmentation of the estate, he secured its classification in 1963 and decided a few years later to donate it to the Belgian State, on the condition of maintaining its integrity and promoting cultural events and meetings.

After the death of Ernest-John in 1972, this magnificent 227-hectare property became accessible to the general public.

Val et Oli