La Follie Castle, Medieval castle in Écaussinnes, Belgium

La Follie is a 16th-century manor built on the foundations of a 14th-century fortress, retaining much of its 16th-century appearance. Its brick facade has tall multipaned windows with pale stone shutters, a central roof tower with a clock, and dormers along the ridge. In the courtyard stands an octagonal Saint Christopher chapel with painted rib vaults and four original Renaissance windows.

The present manor was built in the 16th century on the foundations of a 14th-century fortress with four round towers, three-metre-thick walls and a drawbridge. In 1488, during the Flemish revolt against Maximilian, the d'Orley family held it against the Brussels offensive. After Bernard II d'Orley died in 1506, his widow Isabeau de Wittem had it rebuilt as a residence with large windows. Pierre de Lichtervelde's 1928 excavations uncovered the old moats.

The castle's name comes not from folly but from feuillée, the leafy woodland that once covered the area; La Follie was a seigneurie held by the lords of Roeulx and then of Enghien. In the inner courtyard stands the octagonal Saint Christopher chapel, with painted rib vaults and four original Renaissance stained-glass windows; it belongs to Wallonia's exceptional heritage.

The castle is privately owned by the de Lichtervelde family and cannot be visited freely by the public. Visits are available only for organized groups of 20 to 40 people by prior arrangement.

The cellars lie beneath the present building because the floor was raised during the 16th-century rebuilding, leaving the 14th-century rooms entirely underground. In 1928 Pierre de Lichtervelde excavated there and found the foundations of the four vanished corner towers and a fireplace.