Old Castle of Saive

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Vieux château de Saive, in Blegny, is a ruined fortress built on a rocky spur overlooking the valley of the Julienne. Its square keep, probably dating from the 12th century (roughly 10 m per side and 20 m high, with walls 2 m thick at the base), is protected by a double curtain wall flanked by towers and by ditches. Held by the lords of Jupille, then the Charneux, and from 1458 the de Ryckel family, the castle was caught up in the conflicts of Guillaume de La Marck and was partly dismantled on the orders of the Prince-Bishop of Liège, before being rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century. Sold in 1692 to the Méan family, who built a new manor house nearby, it went into decline: without a roof for more than a century, the keep has survived thanks to the thickness of its walls. The ruins, which are privately owned, are not open to visitors, but the keep can be seen from the village.