History of La Limonaderie
In 1887, Paul Van Hoegaerden, owner of the castle and the Modave estate, submitted a project to capture the water sources at the request of King Leopold II.
This water will supply the Brussels conurbation, which is still the case today.
Following this, in 1889, the ‘Société coopérative des eaux’ (the water cooperative) was set up in the buildings of La Limonaderie, 2 rue des Eaux, along with a small bottling plant.
Thanks to the purity of the spring water in the basement of this building, Modave water and its lemon and orange lemonade soon became very popular, in glass bottles with a ball bearing the effigy of Modave Castle.
In 1958, the lemonade factory produced a million bottles, which were distributed throughout Belgium and Germany.
On the North Sea, the drink was very popular, and people used to order a ‘Modave’.
As the outdated equipment could not be replaced and the production line could not be automated, the plant was closed for good in 1964.
In the early 1970s, an ASBL from the Faucons Rouges movement bought the building, which was almost in ruins, to create a hostel and meeting place, keeping the name.
There’s a lot of work to be done, and the initial arrangements will be made with the help of volunteers and recycled materials.
Francis Pacolet, the chairman for more than 50 years, used his hard work and dedication to transform the limonaderie into a welcoming place with 59 beds, 4 rooms and a new kitchen to accommodate groups for holidays, training courses, family events, etc…
