Fort de Huy

The Ardennes


The centre of Huy is overshadowed by this indomitable stone fortress, an oppressively dour triangular structure, built by the Dutch between 1818 and 1823. Its use by German forces in WWII as an interrogation centre for 7000 prisoners is the focus of an extensive memorial-museum in its cavernous bowels. The site is reached via a footpath zigzagging up from the riverside beyond the church.

From the grassy roof (but not the access path) there's a great panorama looking down across the church towards the brooding cooling towers of the Tihange Nuclear Power Station.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Ardennes attractions

1. Collégiale Notre-Dame de Huy

0.1 MILES

From outside, this large Gothic church has an austere aspect, but inside the age-darkened walls and soaring ceilings are brought to life by almost-floor…

2. Trésor

0.11 MILES

The treasury museum within Huy's collegiate church is remarkable for its four fabulous chest reliquaries of Mosan artisanship, dating from the 12th and…

3. Musée Communal

0.31 MILES

Huy's quaint little city museum occupies rooms set off a very picturesque 1669 cloister that's open to visitors even outside official opening hours…

4. Château de Jehay

5.65 MILES

Like a gingerbread fantasy, this turret-spiked 1550 castle is a fabulous confection of alternating brick and stone rising from an extensive tree-ringed…

5. Château de Modave

5.72 MILES

Few of Belgium’s numerous castles have an interior that beats the memorable Château de Modave. The most arresting of the well-preserved 1673 stucco…

6. Val St-Lambert

12.02 MILES

One of the world's best-known glassworks in the 19th and 20th centuries, Val St-Lambert has made lead-crystal masterpieces within this former monastery…

7. Radhadesh

13.9 MILES

About 4km west of Durbuy, the photogenic Château de Petite Somme is a 13th-century structure with appealing neo-Gothic additions. However, touring the…

8. Château de Durbuy

14.93 MILES

At the heart of Durbuy is this fairly modest riverside castle that dates from 1756, the medieval original having been destroyed by the ravages of Louis…