Tuesday, March 17, 2015

FARMS AROUND WATERLOO BATTLE FIELD

During years the farms which are located along the battle fields, had been forgotten and slowly became ruins. But now of course for the bicentenary they had to be at least repainted and a bit repaired !

One of the most important farms was the "La Belle Alliance" which had been an inn and is situated near the Waterloo Lion. It played a big part during the battle. On the morning of June 18, 1815 the inn became Napoleon Bonaparte's headquarters for the Battle of Waterloo.





After the battle, at around 9 pm, the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Blücher met close to the inn signifying the end of the fighting. The building has become a night club and had already been restored some time ago. I wonder what Napoleon would say that his headquarters had become a Night Club !



200 years ago










Mont St. Jean



Another important one is the farm of Mont-Saint-Jean which served as hospital for the English troops, as the memorial explains. This one is not yet finished but most of the renovation is done.










The Hameau du Roy farm  was also in the center of terrible fights. Today it is a famous bakery.


an ancient convent



A memorial says that at this place  Napoleon attacked the English and Scottish army.



and another farm mostly finished

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

As I thought, it will all be ready for the commemorations.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots of the white-washed buildings.

Jo said...

Such beautiful white buildings. And good photography! Hope you're safely in a warmer part of Europe now...

Fun60 said...

I'm sure you won't be able to move once the commemorative services begin, it will be so crowded. You have made a good record of all the work that has been going on over the past couple of years.

D.Nambiar said...

Nice to see some colour and life being restored to places that saw bad days during the war.

Those are some charming buildings, there; especially the headquarters-turned-into-nightclub one. :)

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I'm glad they've saved so many of these historical buildings; and I still hold out hope that all the restoration will be done on time.

Lew said...

Very nice restoration! Napoleon would probably order a beer, sit down, and tell old war stories!

Su-sieee! Mac said...

I can see Napolean dancing madly to disco in my mind. But then I'm also seeing him in the form of Marlon Brando. lol! The buildings were so masterfully constructed to still stand strong and handsome over all these years.
The View from the Top of the Ladder

Gracie said...

I remember the first one from my visit in 2001!

Minoru Saito said...

Hi! This post is very interesting for me. Is the Lion's Hill very near? Thanks for sharing.

Katharine A said...

I've just found your blog. It has been interesting to see some museums & heritage sites outside of the UK. I must check out some Waterloo bicentenary events here in the UK

Trotter said...

Hi Gattina!
Hope you are having a great time! Sorry for the long absence, but it was a harsh 2014...
Anyhow, enjoy the second half of my post on Valencia, Spain, with some old buildings around!
Wish you a great Easter and all the best!

Viera said...

Amazing shots of the old and significant buildings...

Catch My Words said...

Beautiful photos.

http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/

eastcoastlife said...

Love these old buildings and they did a good job refurbishing it. Looking forward to your post on the bicentenary celebrations.

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About Me

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I love writing, traveling and photography. . I am German, married to an Italian and we live in Waterloo (15 km from Brussels) / Belgium since many years. Waterloo is a famous place to many tourists, because Napoleon lost his battle here against Wellington and other European countries.

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