Urbex: Château de la Forêt, Belgium – April 2014

History

This unoccupied castle, Château de la Forêt, is a stunning Neo-Tudor style building. Built in 1860, the Castle sits in the middle of a forest within a large estate grounds. The Château is not technically abandoned, from what I have been able to establish, the property was left to a group of descendants who are unable to agree upon a single owner and as a result the castle is left empty. Decay is starting to set in, especially within the upper floors where water is clearly breaching the flat roof. The castle features a rectangular design with 4 corner turrets and over 340 windows, there is a large basement area and remains within the grounds of a former fortress which was once built on the site pre-dating the current castle building.

Our Visit

Visited with Donna, and  also had the pleasure of meeting Jeremy Gibbs (RomanyWG) and his son before we made our way to the site. I’ve had Château de la Forêt on the to do list for quite some times and previous plans to take a trip there fallen through, I was glad to finally get the chance to see this place and be fortunate enough to capture a few internal and external photographs before we had to make our exit. My biggest regret of the trip was not stopping off to take a photograph of the castle as we approached… It was early morning before sunrise, the morning light was stunning and there was a brilliant thick mist covering the clearing and surrounding the castle… I’ve seen a photo of the castle in similar conditions but to see it like that for myself was honestly jaw dropping! Too eager to get inside and not be seen we decided to head straight for the building and found our way in…

The Castle is amazing in so many ways! The entrance hall is huge! Made almost entirely with marble and featuring a huge red rug. The staircase takes up most of the ground and first floor in the middle of the building. Off from here you can find various living rooms, dining rooms and the small library. Upstairs features too many bedrooms to count all individual in their features and designs as well as their decorations. Lots of the furniture remains in situ, in the majority they have been left where they were originally found and remain in good condition. There did appear to be some evidence of looting and damage in the past but on the whole, the castle is very well preserved, most likely owing to the good care and attention given to it by the owners and guardians of the place.

Almost impossible to choose favourite parts to this place! Personally, I really enjoyed the room which previously contained a large tapestry on the wall, it was really dark and difficult to shoot in there but the colour casts from the damp on the walls really came out good in the photos. Enjoy the photos… more to come from this place soon!

Enjoyed this report? then check out more photos from the 2nd visit here: Château de la Forêt Revisited

If you’ve made it this far… thanks for reading / checking out the pictures. Leave me a comment below or hit the like button to let me know you’ve enjoyed the shots and to encourage me to keep posting more 🙂

Limited Edition prints and Canvases, as well as regular prints, are available for all of the images above on request and visit the store for more prints and products.

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