King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians have visited the province of Namur, south of Brussels, to have meetings with the citizens of various towns and visit several projects.
The first stop of their trip was made in the early afternoon of Wednesday, 30th March. The royals visited Ciney, a small town that houses a Provincial School of Agronomy and Sciences.
In the institute, they sat for a roundtable centered around the topic of “Tomorrow’s Farming” and held by students, former students and parents. They also visited several classes, including a science lab and a farming machinery lab.
The institute was founded in 1921, when the Province acquired an old castle and surrounding farm land. Initially, classes were only considered a complement to high school education, but since the end of World War II they became a high school curriculum in it of themselves.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde then moved onto the town’s main square, Place Monseu, where they held a walkabout and met the local population.
The Royal couple then made the short 20 kilometre journey from Ciney to Anseremme, where they boarded a boat on the Mose river for a short cruise towards Hastière. The boat belongs to the Compagnie des Corisières Mosanes (Company for Cruises on the Mose), and organises boat tours along the main river in Belgium, the Mose.
In Hastière, Their Majesties visited the castle and gardens of Freÿr-sur-Meuse, a Medieval structure passed down from generation to generation of noble families in the Province, and currently decorated in a Mosan Renaissance style.
The castle has been faithfully restored to give visitors as tangible an idea as possible of what life was when the castle was inhabited. The main attractions inside the castle are the Grand Vestibule, the rococo chapel and the King’s room.
The gardens are in the French style, with shrubberies and fountains in abundance, surrounded by the frame of the Mose valley. The King and Queen briefly toured the gardens as well, with their famous Orangeries, and the picturesque cradle of lime trees.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde routinely make visits to each province of Belgium, so that they can keep in touch with the local population and shine a spotlight on the beauties of their country.
