Vilain Castle (Gentbrugge)

En un regard

Le château en bref

Vilain Castle in Gentbrugge, today a district of Ghent, was a moated castle depicted as early as 1619 on the map by Jacques Horenbault: an island surrounded by water, bearing a main residential block, a tower-like volume, a gate and a bridge. The estate is linked to the Vilain family, notably to the canon Michel Vilain, who died in 1651; the work Flandria Illustrata by Antonius Sanderus (1641–1644) gives a view of it under the name "Domus Domini Canonici Vilain". The local name "Rattendale" is erroneous: it designates the neighbouring Braem Castle, property of the canon Jan Karel Triest. The castle was protected as a monument by royal decree of 18 July 1980 but, abandoned after the death of the notary Van Santvoorde in 1940, it deteriorated greatly and was demolished between 1984 and 1987. What remains is the octagonal brick staircase tower, damaged by a fire in 2018, the outer moat, a bridge and a wooded park with undulating terrain (beeches, limes, horse chestnuts). The protection was definitively lifted in 2023, and since 20 June 2023 the site has been listed in the Flemish inventory of immovable heritage.