La Ferrière is a white villa with Spanish-style crenellated gables, typical of constructions of this period in the region, and surrounded by a vast park. Today bought by a private, it can still be seen in the street which now bears the name of Hergé. The landscapes that surround it are those found in many boxes of the albums, from “Secret de la Licorne” to “Tintin and the Picaros”.
“We are not in the Campine, we are not in Flanders, we are not in the Ardennes. No, we are really in Walloon Brabantconfirms Dominique Maricq. There is the gentle undulation, there is a whole series of tree species and landscapes that are those of our region“. Hergé will live there for ten years, until 1960, when he separates from his first wife, Germaine.
But he has been frequenting Walloon Brabant for much longer: “As a young adult, he already came to Sart-Moulin, an entity of Braine-l’Alleud, since one of his associates in his agency, José De Launoit, lived there.“. Sart-Moulin will later inspire the name of… Moulinsart.