Solre-sur-Sambre Castle

Solre-sur-Sambre Castle, locally known as Château de Solre-sur-Sambre, lies in the village of the same name, west of the town of Thuin, in the province of Hainaut in the Wallonia region in Belgium.

Solre-sur-Sambre Castle was built in the late 13th century by the Lords of Barbençon, near an enclave of the Principality of Liège and at the confluence of the Sambre and Thure rivers. First as just the rectangular massive keep. Later in the 14th or 15th century this keep was incorporated in a square castle with circular towers at its four corners. The keep was transformed to a gate tower.

Around 1480, the castle was bought by the family of Jean Carondelet Mortagne, Lord Chancellor of Archduke Maximilian of Austria. It remained in the hands of the Carondelet Family from 1480 until 1628. Then the castle went to the De Merode family through marriage. In 1843 the castle passed to the Wignacourt family, again through marriage.

In 1989, Prince Alexandre de Merode, bought Solre-sur-Sambre back from the Wignacourt family and his descendants still live in the castle.

At present Solre-sur-Sambre Castle is private property and can not be visited. It can however easily be viewed from the public road and a walking path next to the castle. A beautiful castle.

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