Tourism at the Ferme castrale

In the middle of an important commercial, scientific, artistic, sports and tourist region, between Liège and Huy, near Bierset and Tihange, with easy access, at only 500 m. from the N90 Liège-Huy motorway, Hermalle-sous-Huy maintains a countryside calm and offers a lot of services. (See www.hermalle-sous-huy.be).

Right in the middle of the old village, elegant houses of the 17th and 18th centuries surround the castle and its monumental farm that you can visit (1) :

the Ferme castrale

 (2)

Formerly, yes ! The one of the adjacent castle of Hermalle, still ringed by moat.

Today, a centre for culture and tourism with two museums and a library.

Built with bricks and limestone on foundations from the 16th century, the Ferme castrale presents a various architecture that allows to understand the development of the site through the centuries.

Its parts, mainly dated from 17th and 18th centuries, form a square around a paved and flowery court where children can play completely safe.

Until 1975, it constitued a place of power as link between the villagers and the lord of the manor; it used an important local manpower (male as female, adolescent as adult) and offered seasonal jobs to the Flemishs and the strangers.
It was also a meeting and user-friendly place : the priest and the neighbors provided themselves there with water; the children and teenagers played there; the villagers met there to take their mind off things, to chat, to gossip or to have serious conversations. The local table tennis club was created there. Members of the Resistance and allied combatants took there refuge.

Around 1980, the agricultural activities stops and the giving up causes a worrying no man 's land ; the villagers were separated from a castle that had always constitued the real centre of the village life.

In 1989, the family de Potesta, owner of the castle and its outbuilding, decides to sell the farm.  The following year, the new owner puts the farm on sale and some persons form a cooperative company to buy and save it.

The renovation starts in 1991 at the two sides of the building, in the home and in the barn where the sloping trodden earth floor is leveled and  paved, and where frame and walls are cleaned after removal of the too old hay.
For the Heritage days of 1991, the barn opens to the public.  People discover not only an exhibition of gastronomic objects but also, and above all, an extraordinary space. The lighting exploits the height and the majesty of the place. The villagers who worked or played there notice then they never "looked" at it !

From 1992, the home finds occupants again, and goodwill people buckle down to the work.

The farm find a new life thanks to the citizen action of the npo La Rawète, (3),  founded in 1993 to help the restoration of the building and to find a reassignment to it.
La Rawète, become Tourist office in 2003, created 2 interesting museums and a tavern where you can taste old recipes, extracted from its very rich Library ; the npo proposes moreover one-off activities.

    * Exhibitions, temporary and quality events,
    * the secondhand book market created by the npo Au coeur du livre,
    * the large parking,
    * the access for handicapped persons,
    * the open fire,
    * a menu based on old and regional recipes,
    * the interest of the 2 museums and the library,
    * competent guides,
    * and, moreover, a typical Walloon reception...

...offer you an ideal excursion aim.

The Ferme castrale is free open on Saturday (14-19:00) and Sunday (11-19:00).

On weekdays, guided visits of the building can be organized on appointement for groups ; a scale model-puzzle permits you to understand the different stages of the building from the 12th to the 21th century.
You 'll also can see the signs of mediaeval architectural practices (arrow slits, bartizan and rabbet for the drawbridge roadway), the superb vaulted rooms, the exceptional barn frame, the Arbre du Pendu-Noyé maple tree, a Sequoia dendron giganteum…

See our page Excursion

- The monumental barn
- The north façade
- Henri Vernes, author of the "Bob Morane", at the tavern.