Ter Donck Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Ter Donckt, in Berchem (Kluisbergen), rises in the Scheldt valley on a donk, a slight rise in marshy ground. It was the seat of a lordship distinct from that of Berchem, which fell directly under the court of Pamele and was attached to Berchem only in the second half of the 18th century. It is known from the 13th century through its eastern section, built of rubble Tournai limestone with walls 80 to 90 cm thick and a barrel-vaulted cellar, which the inventory cautiously interprets as a possible residential tower. At the beginning of the 16th century, the dwelling was enlarged in brick and sandstone, with a circular stair tower, and fitted out as a ‘huys van plaisance’ for Philippe Pielvake. From the 17th century it declined and became a farm-château, and it was restored in the 1790s. The moats, fed by the Molenbeek, were largely filled in around 1852. The complex, T-shaped with five bays over two storeys under a slate roof, retains 16th-century oak beams, a fireplace in the Gothic tradition, and a former chapel with a ribbed vault.