Marian Smeets
Chateau Cinderella
A chateau surrounded by a park of 15 hectares. The domain was after the French Revolution by a well-known noble family of the Abbey of Hannon retrieved and the baron of the House built there in 1860 the current Castle. The family remained there, but left in 1984. They did leave the magnificent building dwindle in recent years. It was eventually even a while occupied by squatters. A local, well known expressionist-figurative painter, with a good helping of entrepreneurs blood, then saved the Castle from destruction. It came fully successfull as a hotel-restaurant, especially aimed at the more affluent people. A hotel with 10 luxury rooms, all in a private style. But the owner wanted more, and started yet another hotel-restaurant abroad, while running the business in this chateau by his business partner. Soon thereafter it went downhill with the business, with eventually a definitive closure in 2005. From that moment, the chateau will be empty. In the meantime, in 2014, some investors plans to make a Wellness Centre, which is expected to be 150 jobs, an economic boost in that region. But by the worries around permits is this eventually in 2016 stopped.
