Chateau de la Fraineuse

At the end of the 19th century , the Simonis and Peltzer de Clermont families, industrialists who left their mark on the history of the woolen industry in Verviers, bought the site and built this pretty castle in "pierres de France" (French stones) , inspired on the Petit Trianon of Versailles. In addition to the largely wooded estate and the castle, outbuildings were also built: the "frainette" for the stables and the "fermette" for the gardener's house.

When Spa came back into fashion in the second half of the 19th century , the aristocrats and bourgeoisie of the time came to spend the summer months in the fresh air. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, numerous second homes arose in the suburbs of Spa in the most diverse styles, in keeping with the taste of the time.

The Château de la Fraineuse, the work of Charles Soubre, illustrates the neoclassical style with its symmetrical composition, its imposing portico with columns or its panels with garlands and medallions.

The building was originally part of the Nivezé estate, a vast estate of about 100 hectares on the heights of south-east Spa, which included several villas: the "Vieux Nivezé", which has disappeared, the "Boerderij Nivezé" or model farm with all the agronomic improvements of the time, the "Neubois", which served as the residence of Kaiser Wilhelm II during the First World War and therefore has a bunker, and the "Haut-Neubois". In 1920, Fraineuse Castle hosted the diplomatic conference on the reparations owed by the Germans to the Allies.

Since 1967, an ADEPS sports center has been located here.

Willem Vandenameele