The best walks and hikes around Faimes

dates from 1754

After the church of "Les Waleffes", take the time to look for it because it is not very visible

A long time ago, almost 1000 years ago, there was a Romanesque chapel with a fairly wide tower, very characteristic of the type of elongated tower that we still see in Aineffe. In 1672, during the Franco-Dutch War, the chapel and the seventeen houses of the hamlet were destroyed by fire. The warlike fury had destroyed the building. In 1754, 82 years after the destruction, the chapel was rebuilt. Previously, bricks were used in the region, but here the stones of the old church were used for the foundations. Since 1980, the chapel has been the property of the municipality of Faimes, after it had bought it for the symbolic franc from Count Guy van den Steen de Jehay. In 1987, the municipality began the restoration of the chapel, with the help of the French Community, the Province of Liège and the King Baudouin Foundation, in collaboration with the National Lottery. In the nave, the six 'grisaille' paintings on wood were restored in the restoration studio of the National École des Arts Visuels de La Cambre, in collaboration with the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage. These six paintings represent Saint Lambert, Saint James, Saint Roch, Saint Hubert, Saint Denis and Saint Madelebert (patron saint of the parish of Celles). Unfortunately, the chapel is not freely accessible. Source: faimes.be

Barely 50m from the Chapelle des Victoires (dedicated to Saint Donatus), after which the Sentier de la Chapelle is named, is this much smaller chapel, dedicated to Saint Roch (dedicated to Saint Donatus). The statues are behind glass in a niche above eye level. Incidentally, the street a little further on is called... Rue Saint-Roch.

The Tumulus of Saives or Tombe of Saives (locally referred to as A la Tombe) is a Gallo-Roman burial mound near Saives and Celles in the municipality of Faimes. The mound has a diameter of 42 to 46.5 metres and a height of six metres. In 1874, the burial mound was excavated by G. van Loon, who found a large central vault with a trapezoidal plan. The grave goods consisted of decorated leather harnesses and pieces of bronze horses. The pieces with inlay are kept in the Royal Museums of Art and History, the rest went to the Curtius Museum. Source: Wikipedia

Shortly after the First World War, a small chapel built by the Pirotte and Flaba families. It is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, although this can only be seen from the inscription above the door. Inside, there is no statue or even an altar to be seen: it is completely empty and damaged.

On the corner of Rue Saint-Pierre and Rue de Borlez, opposite the castle of Waleffe, you will find, under a tree and next to a bench, this small chapel, dedicated to Mary (see statue of Mother and Child).

The history of Waleffe Castle begins with Jean Curtius (1551-1628) (also known as Jean de Cortes). After monopolizing the gunpowder trade to the Spanish armies of King Philip II, he became a wealthy industrialist. In addition to the gunpowder he brought back on his many voyages from Asia, Curtius also filled his boats with a great deal of Asian art, such as miniature Chinese porcelain vases and rice paper paintings, which can still be seen throughout the castle today. It was Jean Curtius' grandson who had the castle built in 1706 as an extension to a 16th century farm. Today, the castle is still inhabited by the Barons de Potesta de Waleffe, who have cared for the estate for 13 generations and are direct descendants of the great Curtius. Source: waleffe.com