Rameyen Castle ( nl, Hof van Rameyen) is a castle on a lake in Gestel, part of the municipality of
Berlaar
Berlaar () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Berlaar proper and . In 2021, Berlaar had a total population of 11,710. The total area is 24.57 km².
History
The current munici ...
, in the
province of Antwerp
)
, native_name_lang = nl
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg
, shield_size ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It was once owned by
Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen, who died in the castle. Nicolaas was the second son of
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
.
The first known owner of Rameyen castle in Gestel was
Jan II Berthout van Berlaer who lived in the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in 1303. The oldest part of the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
is the square keep. This heavy tower dates to the 13th century. The keep was fitted with cannon holes in the 16th century.
A beautiful
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
was built around the keep by Van Immerseele and de Cock families. Boudewijn de Cock sold the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in 1643 to
Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen, the second son of the famous painter
Pieter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
. The
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
stayed as a property of the
Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
family until 1759. During the 17th century the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
underwent major restorations and remodelling but at the end of the same century the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
stood empty and decay started. The restoration took place in the 19th century when Esquire Nicolaas Joseph Alphonse de Cock came in possession of the castle. The Esquire lived in the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
until 1888. Other restorations took place in 1906. During
WWI
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
was damaged but the restorations were already finished before the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
ended. The last restorations took place in 1960.
Joseph and Claartje de Gruyter bought the 700-year-old
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in 1995. “It was love at first sight,” Mrs. de Gruyter recalled of the castle, situated near
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, in northern
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. But the moated
chateau, while livable, desperately needed modernizing. So shortly after moving in, the couple sought help from Rutger Steenmeijer, of R. Steenmeijer & H. Baksteen architects, and
Axel Vervoordt. For the first three years, the de Gruyters set up house in the main part of the castle to familiarize themselves with the space while the renovation team worked on the outlying buildings, which included private stables, a coach house and caretaker's cottage. They then moved into the coach house while Mr. Steenmeijer and Mr. Vervoordt turned to the main dwelling. The renovation took over 6 years with a budget over 12 M. Euro
In November 2015, Family de Gruyter sold the property to NV Hof Van Rameyen a Belgian investment company.
See also
*
List of castles in Belgium
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
Some kite aerial pictures of the Castle
Sources
Inventaris onroerend erfgoed: Hof van Rameyen
Castles in Belgium
Castles in Antwerp Province
Berlaar
{{Belgium-castle-stub