The earliest written traces of the Moulin de Daverdisse date back to the early 17th century. A deed of the Court of Wellin, which we link to 1614, mentions the mill and a nearby sawmill, following a drowning that occurred close to them. The mill then belonged to the lord of Daverdisse, who held a banality right over it — a feudal monopoly obliging every villager to grind their grain there. It was the beating heart of the local economy, the only machine turning rye, spelt and oats into flour.
In 1644, an agreement between the lord Guillaume de Vervoz and the inhabitants relieved the latter of most duties, labour services and dues. Only the banality rights over the mill and the oven remained. The lordship then passed to the Jacquemin family, burghers of Dinant. In 1721, the lord of this family authorised the building of a mill on the Gembes stream, replacing the older one. A water wheel turned there, driving millstones that would grind grain for nearly two centuries.
The archives also keep more human traces: in the late 1720s, a lawsuit pitted Jean Robert, the miller, against Pierre Collet, keeper of the common herd, accused of letting a wolf injure several cattle while he played cards. The lordship changed hands in 1725, then passed to the Gerardin and de Monin families. In the 1770s, villagers contested the milling right. On 1 October 1817, a contract concerning the mill was signed between Tristan-Louis de Monin, whose family had held a share of the lordship since the late 18th century, and Jean-Baptiste Heberty. The mill lived through the French Revolution, the Napoleonic annexation and Belgium's independence in 1830 — still at work. In the 19th century, Philippe Vandermaelen's Dictionnaire géographique du Luxembourg notes that there is only one water-powered flour mill there, and lists « Moulin-de-Daverdisse » among the village's dependencies.
In 1908, the arrival of the Graide-Wellin local tramway transformed village life. Daverdisse was finally connected to the outside world. With the tram came the first travellers, and the mill began its slow metamorphosis: gradually an inn, then a restaurant, then a small hotel. In 1914, the First World War broke out and the mill ceased milling. It would never resume — large industrial flour mills were replacing rural ones everywhere. Three centuries of milling ended in a few months. But the stone walls endured.
In 1928, Adolphe Lemaire — the last miller of Daverdisse and future mayor of the village — transforms with his mother Appoline Oudar the old mill into a Hotel-Restaurant. The building is raised by one floor. The Lemaire family carries on the adventure for several decades, adding mansard rooms and a right wing in 1939. In the 1960s, two dam projects on the Lesse threatened the valley: « Lesse I » (1964) would have flooded part of the village; « Lesse II » (1966), further upstream, spared the hotel, then run by Mr Lemaire. Neither was built. In 1989, Mr J.-C. de Meester de Ravenstein undertakes ambitious renovation works and gives the hotel its modern face. This is the establishment our parents will take over six years later.
A deed of the Court of Wellin, which we link to 1614, mentions the mill and a nearby sawmill, following a drowning that occurred close to them. The mill belongs to the lord of Daverdisse, who holds a banality right over it: all the inhabitants had to grind their grain there.
By an agreement of 18 June 1644, the lord Guillaume de Vervoz relieves the inhabitants of most duties, rents and labour services. He keeps only the banality rights over the mill and the oven.
The lord of Daverdisse, of the Jacquemin family — burghers of Dinant — authorises the building of a mill on the Gembes stream. It most probably replaces the older one. In 1725 the lordship is sold to Ignace d'Argent, and will later pass to the Gerardin and de Monin families. Its millstones will grind grain for nearly two centuries.
The arrival of the Graide-Wellin local tram in 1908 opens Daverdisse to the world: the first travellers arrive, and the mill gradually becomes an inn. In 1914, the war ends the milling activity. It will never resume.
Adolphe Lemaire, the last miller of Daverdisse and future mayor of the village (1933-1945), transforms with his mother Appoline Oudar the family mill into a Hotel-Restaurant. The building is raised by one floor. The Lemaire family then expands the establishment: mansard rooms, then a right wing built in 1939.
Our grandparents Florimond and Simone De Naeyer turn the Priory of Conques — a former estate of Orval Abbey since 1173 — into an inn. It is where our mother Brigitte is born, and where a family story in hospitality begins.
Our father Jean-Pierre Dufour comes to work at the Priory of Conques. There he meets our mother. They marry in 1982 and raise a family of five children. Jean-Pierre continues his journey in fine houses in Luxembourg — Le Patin d'Or, the Intercontinental — then becomes first chef at the opening of the Domaine Thermal in Mondorf-les-Bains, where he stays for eight years.
A hotel since 1928, the Moulin de Daverdisse — nestled in a park crossed by the Almache, a few kilometres from Conques — begins a new life under Mr J.-C. de Meester de Ravenstein, who renovates and modernises it thoroughly.
Our parents take over the management of the Moulin de Daverdisse. Jean-Pierre at the stoves, Brigitte at reception and in the dining room. The Moulin becomes their home, and that of their children.
Five years after their arrival, our parents buy the establishment from Mr de Meester de Ravenstein. The Moulin de Daverdisse fully becomes a family home.
Jean-Pierre and Brigitte undertake major works: new rooms, wellness area with pool, sauna and hammam. The Moulin grows, without losing any of its soul.
After thirty years of passionate commitment, our parents hand the Moulin over to us. Laetitia at reception and in the dining room, Ludovic in the kitchen, Cédric in the dining room and management. Three children, three roles, one house. The third generation enters the stage.
