Domain Latour de Freins

 castle, conference centre

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The Latour de Freins Domain dates back from the early 1900’s and was built thanks to donations and bequests of philanthropists Charles-Antoine de Latour and Georges Brugmann.

The castle, which was inspired by Renaissance architecture, was designed by Henri Maquet, a fashionable architect at that time. He is responsible, amongst other things, for the current façade of the Palais Royal in Brussels.
The park and garden of the Domain were designed by a famous German landscape architect: Louis Fuchs.

On June 1, 1903, the Domain was inaugurated in the presence of King Leopold II, who made one of his first car trips at that occasion.

The castle was first used as a convalescent institute intended to accommodate people who had been treated in the hospitals of Brussels.

In 1989, the Institut Médical de Latour de Freins shuts its doors and leaves room for the Embassy of Czechoslovakia, which later became the Embassy of the Czech Republic, charmed by the elegance of the premises.
A few years later, the Domain starts its scientific mission when the private company Starlab, specialized in high-tech research, settled its labs and offices in the castle.

In 2002, the Brussels Capital Region gets back the estate and gives it its present purpose: that of an international place devoted to R&D, coupled with a conference center.