Jannée Castle, castle in Wallonia

Jannée Castle is a grey stone castle with a steep slate roof and three pointed towers along its front, the central one tallest. Its facade has rows of rectangular windows with white frames, green shutters and stone surrounds, and a wooden door in a stone arch reached by steps. Climbing greenery covers part of the left wall, with a hedge, grass strip and pond in front.

From the Middle Ages until the early 17th century, Jannée was a small fortified house with an outbuilding, protected by moats. Around 1630 Thomas Woot de Trixhe had it converted into a manor. In the early 19th century the baronne de Woot de Jannée laid out the ponds and an English park and added a tower at each corner. It served as a German hospital in 1914 and an English one in 1944, narrowly escaping fire in August 1944.

The castle has belonged to the de Woot de Trixhe de Jannée family since Thomas Woot de Trixhe turned the medieval stronghouse into a manor around 1630, and it still does. It opened to the public in the 1970s. The baroness de Woot de Jannée laid out the ponds and an English park in the early 19th century.

The castle has been open to the public since the 1970s and is still owned by the de Woot de Trixhe de Jannée family, so parts remain private. It stands in the hamlet of Jannée, part of Pessoux in the municipality of Ciney, province of Namur. The ponds and English park laid out in the early 19th century surround the building.

In August 1944, a fight between the Wehrmacht, backed by the Feldgendarmerie, Walloon Legionnaires and Flemish SS, and the Secret Army nearly set the castle on fire. It survived and has belonged to the de Woot de Trixhe de Jannée family ever since.