Gestelhof Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Gestelhof, in Gestel, a district of Berlaar in the Antwerp Campine, is a water castle surrounded by moats linked to the Grote Nete. Founded around 1562 by canon Pieter van Dale, its entrance building still bears the motto "Laet niet dale". The estate passed between several seigneurial families and was severely affected by the troubles of the late eighteenth century. In 1816 it came into the hands of the Le Grelle family, who had it rebuilt between 1878 and 1881 by the architect Cuypers, in a blend of Flemish Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque styles. After the fire of 1914, the restoration of 1916–1921 further altered and enlarged its volumes. The rectangular two-storey main block, topped with slate mansard roofs and corner turrets, is preceded by a 16th-century entrance gate with a drawbridge, and extended to the east by a landscaped park with wooden pavilions and garden bridges. The castle, its park, its avenues and the Witte Hoeve have been listed as a monument since 1981.