Musée de Mariemont

The estate's heritage

An open-air museum

Visit the Domain & Royal Museum of Mariemont

Map of Mariemont estate

Art works

1. Ornamental vases – 19th c.
2. Buddha statue – 1910
3. Statue of Avalokiteshvara – 16 th/17 th c .
4. Vers la vie [Towards Life], Victor Rousseau – 1911
5. The Burghers of Calais, Auguste Rodin – 1906
6. L’Abondance [The Abundance], Jef Lambeaux– 1902
7. Fontaine archiducale [Archducal Fountain], Laurent Delvaux – 1741
8. Fontaine Sainte-Thérèse [Saint Theresa Fountain] – 1766
9. Le Semeur [The Sower], Constantin Meunier – 1914
10. Gate from Neufvilles castle – 2nd half of the 19th c.
11. Vase Bacchanale [Bacchanal vase], Godefroid Devreese – 1913
12. Canons français [French cannons] – 1st half of the 18th c.
13. Lions et lionnes couchés [Recumbent Lions and Lionesses], Guill. Geefs – 1re moitié 19e s.
14. Oriental bronze vase – early 20th c.
15. Lion Fountain from the Alhambra in Granada – 1910
16. Bell from Notre-Dame chapel in La Hestre – 1698
17. La Source [The Spring], Jef Lambeaux – 1901
18. Le Triomphe de la femme [Triumph of the Woman], Jef Lambeaux – 1901
19. Porch from Ghislenghien Abbey – late 18th c.
20. Extraits des Passions humaines [Extracts from The Human Passions], Jef Lambeaux – 1901
21. Marble vase – 1911
22. La Vie [The Life], Michelangelo Circo - 2024

The estate's institutions

A. Royal Museum of Mariemont
B. CRIE (Regional Environment Initiation Centre)
C. École provinciale d’horticulture [Regional School of Horticulture]
D. Service public de Wallonie [Wallonia Public Service]
E. Atelier du Livre de Mariemont
F. Wallonia-Brussels Federation Drama Writing Centre

Historic buildings

G. The kitchen garden (visits can be booked through CRIE)
H. The winter garden – 19 th c.
I. The Warocqué mausoleum – 1923
J. Ruins of Charles of Lorraine’s castle – 18 th c.
K. The horseshoe – 18 th c.
L. The rustic bridge – 1839
M. The Roman bath – late 19 th c.
N. The water tower – mid 19 th c.
O. The pump house – 1868

Botanicals

1. Tree-lined avenue
2. Rose garden
3. Japanese walnut tree – Juglans ailantifolia Carr.
4. Atlas cedar – Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ‘Glauca’
5. Sweet chestnut – Castanea sativa Mill.
6. Pubescent oak – Quercus pubescens Willd.
7. English oak – Quercus robur L.
8. Sichuan pepper – Zanthoxylum simulans.
9. European beech – Fagus sylvatica L. purpurea Ait
10. Persian ironwood – Parrotia persica C.A. Mey.
11. Himalayan pine – Pinus wallichiana Jacks.
12. Weymouth pine – Pinus strobus L.
13. Montpellier maple – Acer monspessulanum L.
14. London plane – Platanus acerifolia (Ait.) Willd.
15. Tulip tree – Liriodendron tulipifera L.
16. Tri-colour European beech – Fagus sylvatica L ‘Roseomarginata’
14. Hybrid oak – Quercus x rosacea Bechst
18. Oak-leaved beech – Fagus sylvatica L. ‘Quercifolia’
19. Araucaria – Araucaria araucana K. Koch
20. Cucumber tree – Magnolia acuminata L.
21. Italian alder – Alnus cordata
22. Himalayan cedar – Cedrus deodora
23. Horse chestnut – Aesculus hippocastanum
24. Ginkgo or the Tree of forty crowns – Ginkgo biloba
25. Giant sequoia - Sequoiadendron giganteum
26. Coastal redwood - Sequiadendron semper virens
27. Amour cork tree - Phellodendron amurense
28. Caucasian wingnut - Pterocarya fraxinifolia
29. Hybrid lime - Tilia x orbicularis
30. Lebanese cedar - Cedrus libani
31. Purple sycamore - Acer pseudoplatanus
32. Indian bean tree - Catalpa bignonioides

Estate maintenance

History

Mariemont Estate is a natural work of art and historical heritage that merits preservation.

It all began in the 17th century when Charles-Alexander of Lorraine, decided to create a formal French garden to encourage the occupants of Mariemont Castle to take a stroll.

In 1832, the German landscape architect Charles-Henri Petersen drew up the plan for the new estate. Louis Fuchs and Édouard Keilig would continue his work until the end of the 19th century.

In 1970, Nicolas Warocqué transformed the Estate, adding the “English touch” that we know today.

The Estate in figures

Surface area of 45 hectares
900 metre access road
Over 2,400 horticultural species recorded
39 trees with ‘outstanding’ classification
Some 100,000 heritage assets
More than 450,000 visitors each year

Public Service of Wallonia (SPW) and its initiatives

Mariemont Estate is maintained by the Public Service of Wallonia in line with a structured, sustainable management plan.

The aim is to implement the best possible maintenance practices, adopting a financially viable, ecological approach that is respectful of the Estate’s heritage, to guarantee:

preservation of the environment and biodiversity
compliance with the intentions of the successive landscape architects
conservation of the estate’s heritage,
consideration of visitor usage and expectations.

Furthermore, no pesticides have been used since 2011.

The 8 gardeners share the maintenance in accordance with 5 SPW management classifications:

Class 1 – Impeccable (prestige space)

Highly structured horticultural space with manual weeding, exclusive flower varieties, regular watering and precise control of vegetation growth.

Class 2 – well-maintained (welcoming space)

Garden with controlled mixed landscaping, manual weeding, flower maintenance and monitoring of vegetation growth.

Class 3 – Ordinary (living space)

Mix of horticultural and natural vegetation, controlled maintenance

Class 4 – Rustic (rural space)

Natural vegetation tolerated and managed. Maintained with a focus on biodiversity and respect for the open aspect.

Class 5 – Natural (forest area)

Minimal maintenance limited to targeted forestry operations. Aim: to preserve and encourage the development of fauna and flora.