Le vieux Château de Commanster: history hidden in a quite corner of the Belgian Ardennes

Hidden away in some quiet corner of the Belgian Ardennes, Le vieux Château de Commanster in the village of Commanster came as a nice surprise. Not that there is much château to speak of, but the interior, with its carved oak paneling of the staircase, the arms and doors, made up for the lack of the grandeur of the old castle (if ever there was one).Le vieux château, built in 1741 by Henri-François Baptiste, alderman at the court of Salm and mayeur Gouvy, is now a listed building, 

Inside there is a small pub (only open on Friday evenings, weekends and holidays ), where you can taste the local “Cervoise” beer, eat some bread and cheese “Old Castle / Vieux Château” or if you have a sweet tooth enjoy the local “tarts” or cakes. Time really seems to slow down in Le vieux Château de Commanster once you start staring at the soft blue flames fluttering around the grill, while at the same time observing how the embers of thick local wood add more burnt remains to the already existing layers of centuries old black dust.