Recommended by Larisa Doctorow
Belgium is famous for its large number of medieval castles. Notaby many of them are concentrated on the former fortification lines in the border regions. Among them is the province of Hainaut in the southwest of the country, bordering France.
When Belgium became a kingdom with a clearly defined territory in 1830, the castles lost their defensive functions. Many were destroyed or fell into disrepair, while others were rebuilt in accordance with new fashions and turned into palaces with large enfilades, terraces and parks. But there are still castles that are home to owners with a long family history.
This includes Chateau de Chimay, near the town of the same name in the province of Hainaut. It too has been rebuilt and now presents visitors with its light grey baroque facade in the Louis XIV style. The history of the castle dates back 1,000 years, while the town of Chimay is a few centuries older. The town of Chimay still retains its traditional appearance of a medieval town with a central square, a 13th century cathedral of Peter and Paul, a small population (9,000) and a division into upper and lower town. It was mentioned in the times of the Hundred Years War.
Since April 1st, the tourist season started and the castle began to receive guests. This will continue until the end of October. When you go up a narrow street from the center of the town, passing under the Triumphal Gate, almost directly a noble facade of two floors with corner towers opens up. In front of it is a large green meadow on which events are staged during the summer season. The castle is surrounded by 150 hectares of forest and shrubbery. Looking out of the windows, one can see them going down the gentle hills to the White Water River. This river, together with the Black Water, joins the River Meuse.
In its 1,000-year history, the castle has been burned and destroyed almost to the ground seven times. The most devastating fire was in 1935, but now everything has been restored, including the decoration of the inner chambers.
Last year, 17,000 people visited the castle and it is considered the main regional tourist attraction. From the main entrance hall, passing through several small rooms, the visitor finds himself in the court theatre, created in the beginning of the 19th century. Thitry-five years ago Princess Elisabeth and her husband Prince Elie de Chimay organized a music festival, and since then the castle has hosted musical evenings every summer during July - August.
This theatre is breathtakingly beautiful. It was built during the time of Princess Madame Theresa Tallien in the Baroque style and was modeled after the court theatre at Fontainebleau. It is known for its beauty and often serves as a filming location. Gilding and red velvet were used in the decoration of the auditorium. On the stage, gilded chandeliers and a painted backdrop depicting a bucolic landscape draw attention. It has a seating capacity of 300 spectators.
Many members of the Chimay family were in the diplomatic service or in the army, but the most impressive impact was left by Madame Tallien, a Spaniard who in 1805 married the Count de Caraman, who later became Prince de Chimay. She lived in the chateau for 30 years and is buried in the local cathedral, and there is a monument to them in the town's Main Square.
Several books have been written about her, among them 'The Princess of Dreams'. The author is Elizabeth de Chimay, the mother of the current prince. As she explains, many materials, documents, letters, diaries, were borrowed from the castle archives. During the French Revolution and the Terror, Madame Tallien was nicknamed "Our Lady of Thermidor". With the help of her previous husband, the Proconsul of Bordeaux, whom she persuaded to go against Robespierre, the lives of hundreds of condemned men were saved.
After settling in Chimay, Madame Tallien turned the chateau into the centre of musical life. Almost all the famous musicians of the period visited the chateau. The chateau's archives contain scores of operas by Aubert and correspondence between Malibran, Viardot and Cherubini. After her departure, the musical fame of the chateau continued, as exemplified by the Russian composer Alexander Borodin's visit to the chateau during his tour of Belgium in the middle of the 19th century.
The castle was occupied and destroyed during World War II. With the outbreak of war, the de Chimay family left the castle and did not return until 1948. The whole area was occupied by the Germans, who obviously attached importance to the province. It is known that Hitler visited the castle twice in 1940 and 1941. The destruction of the castle was considerable, but the main thing that survived was the archives, and the castle was meticulously restored. The theater was restored in 1958.
In 1994 the stage director Gerard Corbiau used the Chimay castle as the location for shooting his film "Farinelli, II Castrato" telling the story of the famous singer of the18th century.
Image credit: Chatsam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
