Wittouck Castle, Stately home in Uccle, Belgium.
Wittouck Castle, also called Château de La Fougeraie, is a three-storey red brick mansion on a broad lawn in Uccle, at the edge of the Sonian Forest. Its symmetrical facade centres on a projecting entrance with paired columns and a round-arched doorway, topped by a triangular stone pediment; tall white-trimmed windows line the sides and round-arched windows sit at ground level. Louis Süe designed it in 1911 with Paul Huillard, and Gustave Louis Jaulmes painted the interior frescoes.
Paul Wittouck, a leading figure in Belgian industry, had the château built in 1911 in the Sonian Forest by architect Louis Süe, with Paul Huillard collaborating and engineer L. Bogaerts. During World War II the Wittouck family was expelled so that Léon Degrelle could install himself there. In September–October 1944 Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands made it his base, and on 28 October 1944 Christiaan Lindemans was arrested there on suspicion of betraying the Arnhem attack.
The interior decoration reflects tastes of the early 1900s, with rooms designed to showcase the owner's social standing and wealth. The style shaped how the Belgian upper class lived during this era.
The castle sits on Avenue du Fort Jaco and functions as a private residence with limited access to the public. Visitors can view it from nearby paths in the surrounding forest area.
Dutchman Christiaan Lindemans, nicknamed King Kong for his build, was arrested at the château on 28 October 1944 on suspicion of betraying the Arnhem attack, a charge the sources call almost certainly false. He had worked for the British secret service for four years before offering himself to the Germans.
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