Reinhardstein Castle

Reinhardstein Castle - Château de Reinhardstein, Ovifat, Liege Province, Walloon Region, Kingdom of Belgium.

It was in 1354 that Duke Wenceslas of Luxembourg granted permission to Renaud of Waimes to build a castle on this site. Due to the extinction of the family of Waimes, the caslte is taken over successively by the families Zivelle, Brandscheid and Naussau.
In 1550 following the marriage of Anne Naussau to Guillaume of Metternich, Reinhardstein becomes the property of this important Rhineland family, until the French Revolution. Abandoned, it falls progressively into important ruin.
In 1812, Count Metternich, father of the Chancellor Klement (Congress of Vienna), sells the building.
In 1965, Jean Overloop, teacher in Brussels, discovered the castle in ruins almost by chance and in his own words, it was love at first sight.
It did not take him less than eighteen months, helped by a few enthusiasts and relying on the expertise of local craftsmen, to rise Reinhardstein from ruins.