Scheldevelde castle (De Pinte)

En un regard

Le château en bref

Scheldevelde Castle, in De Pinte, grew out of a land-reclamation farm that the Abbey of Saint Peter in Ghent established in the centre of the Scheldevelde, a vast heath whose name is recorded as early as the 13th century; the farm is mentioned in 1259. In the second half of the 18th century, it became an estate with a central manor house, surrounded by land won through reclamation and a radial network of avenues, which the abbot used as a country residence. Seized as national property under French rule and sold to F.N. Speelman, the manor house was bought back in 1841 by the De Potter-Surmont de Volsberghe family, who had it demolished in 1846. It was replaced by the present castle, in a late classicising style, designed by the Ghent architect Louis Minard (1801–1875). By will of 1858, Zoé Borluut-De Potter bequeathed the castle to the Bureau de Bienfaisance of Nazareth to house twelve elderly people from De Pinte, under the direction of the Sisters of Charity. Today it houses the services of the CPAS of De Pinte and a retirement home of some sixty residents; the 18th-century farm remains in operation. Seven avenues radiate from the estate, whose park is freely accessible.