Château Vyle
THE ABANDONED CASTLE IN BELGIUM
‘Château Vyle’ is an abandoned castle in the village Vyle-et-Tharoul, part of the Marchin municipality. The building was renovated in 2016 after years of neglect.
This castle dates from the nineteenth century, but it is built on older foundation that are dated 1740. The oldest wing of the castle was built by the Lamarche-Francotte family in 1820. The castle was built in a Neoclassical-style with a whitewashed brick construction. The Lamarche family were tobacconists.
Later the castle was property of Count Alphonse de Meeus and Baroness Louise d’Overschie de Neeryssche. In fact, the château stayed property of the Meeus family for many years. During these years, the castle has been the subject of many restorations and transformations.
Second World War
The Château Vyle was used quite remarkably during the war. A German army unit used the château as their camp when the German forces swept through Belgium in 1940. In 1944 the American ‘300th Combat Engineers’ did the same. Therefor the furniture was moved out, and they slept on the floor of the dining room, the officers were quartered in the upstairs rooms.
During my visit, the castle has been abandoned for 20 years. Meanwhile, the roof and the first floor have collapsed. In fact, the whole building is just falling apart. During its abandonment the castle becomes a famous spot for photographers who named the place ‘Château Congo’. In July 2016 the castle was bought by an investor and as a result the castle was eventually renovated into apartments. I visited the castle just before it was renovated. Follow this link for more abandoned castles.
