En un regard
Le château en bref
Overlooking the Sennette valley from a rocky spur, the fortified Château d'Écaussinnes-Lalaing retains the appearance of a medieval stronghold at the heart of the Hainaut village of the same name. According to the sources, a first fortress dates from the late 12th or the 13th century (the date 1184 and Count Baudouin V of Hainaut are often cited); it then guarded the border of the Duchy of Brabant. Passed by marriage to Simon I de Lalaing in 1357, the lordship saw the present fortress begun from 1372, then remodelled by the lords of Écaussinnes and their heirs, the Lalaings, who gave the place its name. What survives includes part of the enclosure wall of the upper court (haute-cour), the north-east corner tower, the west wing and the gatehouse tower that opens onto the main courtyard; a Gothic hall received a Rococo decoration in the 18th century. Bought back in 1920, the estate has belonged to the van der Burch family since 1927, whose foundation maintains the site and runs the museum housed in the château. The whole is listed as a protected site since 1983, its kitchen garden is listed as a monument, and the château appears in the Patrimoine exceptionnel de Wallonie.
