Spiere Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Spiere (Espierres), in Spiere-Helkijn in West Flanders, succeeded the residence of the lords of Spiere, first a motte castle in the twelfth century and then a fortified castle. Destroyed by the inhabitants of Courtrai in 1351, and again by the French in 1477 during their war against Mary of Burgundy, the site was rebuilt. The present building dates from the mid-eighteenth century and was the seat of the barony of Spiere. The twinned arms of the del Fosse and Sourdeau families, who were successive owners, adorn the pediment. Built on a U-shaped plan open onto a courtyard, it has a symmetrical façade of nine bays. The central projecting section, of three bays over two storeys in Tournai stone, is crowned by a triangular pediment. The roof is hipped, and the single-storey lower wings are each surmounted by a small pavilion with an upper floor. The remains of the former motte survive, known as "La Cave aux Diables", with a cellar in Tournai limestone. According to the inventory record, a landscape garden was laid out at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and a Neo-Gothic chapel was added alongside the avenue at the end of the nineteenth century. The château is listed as a monument, together with its park and avenue, under the Law of 1931.