Top 16 Castles around Ledegem

very nice and quiet area

The Polderhoek is currently a forgotten piece of land near the A19 motorway, next to the Witches Monument. It is almost unthinkable, but during the war there was a beautiful park in the Polderhoek valley. The southern Polderhoek Castle stood in the middle of the park. The Polderhoek Castle, popularly known as the “Flower Castle”, was one of the most beautiful castles in the region. The castle was built around 1850, was over 30 hectares in size and had Italian architectural influences. From the beginning of the First World War, the beautiful park was occupied by the Germans. In 1914, the front ran right through it and the park was then on German territory. On 4 October 1917, British troops succeeded in taking the northeastern part of the park. However, they did not get any further and the offensive was stopped on the ridge. The entire area was shot to pieces and the Reutelbeek, which flowed through the park, formed a wide swamp. Triggered? Want to know more about the war past? Click through to https://www.toerismezonnebeke.be/nl/zien-en-doen/polderhoek-chateau-verdwenen-kasteel/

You can see the side and back of Ooigem Castle from the Oude Leie; the front from the entrance gate on Desselgemsestraat. On an information board on site you will find this explanation: A castle was possibly built here in the 9th century to protect Harelbeke. The oldest known lord was mentioned in 1080 as Lambertus de Odenghem. Around 1260, the castle came into the possession of the lords of Luxembourg. They probably had a stone castle built in the 13th century. At the end of the 14th century, a fire is said to have raged and in the course of the 15th century the castle fell into disrepair. In 1510, the lordship was sold to the De Gros family, who made it habitable again. In 1576, however, the castle was plundered by iconoclasts and fell into disrepair again. During the 17th century, the castle was rebuilt on the old foundations, probably by order of Charles de Gros, the first regular resident. In 1693, the castle came into the hands of the De Lens family as an inheritance. A chapel and a Louis XV-style staircase were added, the salons were redecorated, new stables and coach houses appeared in the farmyard. The park was laid out. Petrus Verhaeghe, mayor of Ooigem, lived in the castle after the French Revolution and in 1889 Bernard Verhaeghe, who was mayor of Ooigem at the time, bought the castle. His son Alfons Verhaeghe was visited several times by Oscar Wilde. 'Op het kasteel', the story by Stijn Streuvels from 1904, is also set in this castle. In 1937, a number of farm buildings in the farmyard were demolished, but the dovecote remained. The garden was redesigned, on a smaller scale than before. According to literature, the domain once housed prisons, storage areas for payments in kind, courtrooms and council chambers.

Today, parts of the castle are rented out as a venue for corporate events, seminars, parties, and more. Extensive work has been carried out for this purpose over the past quarter century. Mr. Marc Van Honsebrouck, who died last year at the age of 89, had lived in the castle with his family since 1986, and had already commissioned renovations around the turn of the century. But disaster struck shortly afterward. On September 20, 2001, at 1:45 a.m., a fire broke out. Fortunately, Mr. Marc and his family managed to escape, but the entire left wing, both the ground floor and the upper floor, was completely destroyed. Although the fire department arrived very quickly, many priceless works of art were lost in the fire. The building itself suffered greatly, but the skill of the firefighters managed to stop the all-consuming flames. The grief over this terrible event was palpable far beyond the castle grounds. In 2012, Mr. Marc Van Honsebrouk decided to take over the castle's entire care and bought out his brother, who had been co-owner until then. His plan was to breathe new life into the castle, which had only been made wind- and watertight after the fire. The result of the past few years is the magnificent halls that shine again. Sources: https://kasteelvaningelmunster.be/ https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20230824_96366895

The origin of the name "Ingelmunster" most likely lies in the history of this castle. The castle was built on the ruins of a seventh-century monastery. In 740, the monastery was reportedly inhabited by English monks, who gave it their name: Anglo Monaterum, Engelmunster, or Ingelmunster, meaning "Monastery of the Angels." In 855, the monastery fell prey to the Normans, the feared rulers of the sea. They plundered and burned the monastery. Little more than a ruin remained of the "Monastery of the Angels." The first Flemish ruler to establish a political presence in West Flanders was Robert I the Frisian, the tenth Count of Flanders. His reign lasted from 1071 to 1093, and he had the fortified castle built on the site of the ruins. Ingelmunster's location, on the doorstep of West Flanders and along the waterway that crossed the military route between Kortrijk and Bruges, was of such strategic importance that it was called the "Key to Flanders." Ingelmunster Castle, which at that time was still a veritable "lock," offered the key to unlocking a tactical advantage. Source: https://kasteelvaningelmunster.be/historiek-kasteel/

Ter Borcht Castle has a long and eventful history and is deeply intertwined with Meulebeke. The house is the resting place of the lords of Meulebeke. For them, it is more of a summer residence, as they usually find their permanent, comfortable abode in a number of Flemish fortified cities such as Bruges and Ghent. The De Beer family owned this piece of Meulebeke territory for almost 250 years, until 1819. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Ter Borcht was continuously inhabited by members of the upper middle class. The current castle dates from the seventeenth century and was built around an older core. The building consists of two nearly identical wings. The second wing was completed before 1654. In 1859, the Thienpont family began a major renovation of the castle, and the facades were given a classical look. The original brick and natural stone finish disappeared under a thick plaster. Only the early seventeenth-century gate towers still retain their original appearance today. The park, built in the English landscape style (1850-1875), features several old viewpoints: towards the church, the (now vanished) Borchtmolen, and the Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. In this way, the village and surrounding area do not escape the all-seeing eye of the lord of the castle. Over time, these viewpoints almost completely disappeared. Source: information board on site

to eat and walk

The castle of Rumbeke is located in the provincial domain Sterrebos (27 ha). In the 18th century, the building was renovated in a classical style, with the Sterrebos being laid out using the Friar of Vienna as a model. According to legend, Boudewijn I fled with the Iron Arm, Count of Flanders, in 862 together with Judith, daughter of Emperor Charles the Bald, to the castle that stood here at the time. After the intervention of the Pope, this led to a marriage and the creation of the County of Flanders. The castle was inhabited for centuries by the counts de Thiennes and de Limburg Stirum. It was damaged by the Beggars and ravaged during the Wars of Louis XIV, the French Revolution and the First and Second World Wars. On the square in front of the castle is an impressive plane tree, which probably dates from the 18th century. Thanks to the well-thought-out layout of the castle environment and of the park forest, the Sterrebos offers sufficient variety, both in terms of landscape and of course, to continue to fascinate. source: hiking guide Flanders route GR 128