En un regard
Le château en bref
Hovorst Castle, in Viersel (municipality of Zandhoven, Province of Antwerp), is a former moated castle that has become a mansion in the Flemish Neo-Renaissance style, surrounded by a wooded park, an avenue of beech trees and outbuildings, among them a former water mill. The name Hovorst is recorded from the 14th century, when a farm estate there was held in fief from the Duke of Brabant. The van de Werve family were established there for a long time (sources differ on the exact length of their ownership), while Paul Melchior de Villegas had the castle renovated in the third quarter of the 17th century. In 1802, P.J. de Bruyn bought the estate, remodelled it in the Empire style and had the moat partly filled in; walls and towers were demolished, and only the eastern main wing survives. In 1913–1914, the architect Pierre Langerock transformed it into the Flemish Neo-Renaissance style, giving it its present appearance. The original castle, known from a map of 1618 and an engraving of 1694, had two main wings, three round corner towers and a fortified gatehouse with a drawbridge. The estate has been protected as a site since 1980.
