En un regard
Le château en bref
The Blauwhuys stands in Merelbeke, east of the Melsenbeek, at the end of an estate of more than five hectares whose origins may go back to a medieval farm established near the Scheldt. In the 16th century, the farm is said to have been converted into a pleasure house surrounded by a moat; the oldest known title deed is said to date from 1586. Before 1615 and until 1768, the estate belonged to the Triest family, and a tree-lined avenue then linked it to the former Hof Ter Wallen, of which it is said to have been the hunting lodge. The Piers family inherited it in 1768 and kept it until 1806; the first half of the 19th century then saw numerous sales. The Ghent notary Jules Lammens acquired it in 1874, hence the name ‘Château Lammens’ long given to the site. The Verhaegen family has owned it since 1886, after the marriage of Lammens’s daughter to the engineer-architect Baron A. Verhaegen, a supporter of the neo-Gothic school of Saint-Luc. He designed the 1884–1885 extension: a tall neo-Gothic brick block to the south-east, flanked by a square corner tower with a slate spire and a private chapel with a triple lancet window. The estate has been protected as built heritage since 2009 (under the name Kasteel Blauwhuys) and under the designation ‘Kasteeldomein Blauwhuys’ since 20 June 2023.
