Chateau de Chimay

Dating back over a thousand years, the Château de Chimay is the ancient ancestral seat - and still home to - the Princes of Chimay who descend from Count Charles de Croy (1455-1527). In 1486, Emperor Maximilian I of Austria elevated Chimay from a County to a Principality and as such Charles became the 1st Prince of Chimay. Today, the chateau is home to his descendant, the 22nd Prince of Chimay, but it is also open to the public for tours during the tourist season. For a brief period, this was home to the eccentric 19th Princess, the American Clara Ward, whose substantial fortune saved the Prince from financial embarrassment and paid for the castle's much-needed repairs. But, she later ditched her Prince to run off with a Hungarian fiddler she met while he serenaded her and other diners at a restaurant!