Castle of s'Gravenwezel

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Castle of 's-Gravenwezel (Schilde, province of Antwerp), also known as Pélichy Castle, is a former medieval fortress converted into a country house in the 18th century. A fief of the Lordship of Breda in the early Middle Ages, it belonged to a defensive line around Antwerp; the knight Gerard van Wezemaal owned it in 1287, and Walterus, Count of Wesele, is recorded as its first known vassal in 1312. The oldest parts date from the 14th and 15th centuries. Jan de Glymes, Lord of Bergen op Zoom, bought it in 1495, and it remained attached to the marquisate until 1561. Under the Van Susteren family, the Antwerp architect Jan Pieter van Baurscheit the Younger remodelled it from 1740: the enclosed courtyard gave way to a terrace linked to the park by a stone bridge, the medieval core was preserved, and the south façade was largely rebuilt. In 1774, the widow Isabella Vecquemans de la Vère completed the exterior renovation and redecorated the interior. Passing to the Barons Gillès de Pélichy, who served as mayors of the village from 1830 to 1929, it was sold by the heirs in 1983 and then acquired in 1984 by the antiques dealer Axel Vervoordt, who made it his residence. The castle is currently not open to the public.