En un regard
Le château en bref
The Hof ter Linden estate covers roughly one hectare between the Hogeweg and the Marterstraat in Mechelen (province of Antwerp). Its name recalls a large lime tree that once stood at the centre of the lawn, now surrounded by oaks, plane trees, limes, sweet chestnuts, beeches and yews. The main house, rendered and whitewashed, has seven bays across three storeys above a raised ground floor. A slate mansard roof, crowned by a wrought-iron cresting, tops it, and a central projecting bay, preceded by a broad staircase, carries a terrace on cast-iron columns. Its present appearance dates from the 1880s, when the property belonged to Edouard d'Arripe, but the core is older: the building already appears on the Ferraris and Popp maps. Inside survive a neo-Louis XVI hall with a double staircase, salons with stucco ceilings and marble fireplaces, a neo-Flemish Renaissance salon, and a Chinese-style room with painted decoration, as well as staircase stained-glass windows signed by Leopold Pluys in 1884. A carriage house and stable block and a dovecote from the same period complete the ensemble. The landhuis is listed as a monument, and the park is protected as a site by the decree of 16 June 1981. After a long period of neglect and then restoration following its sale in 1984, the building serves as a training centre.
