| Rameyen Castle | |
|---|---|
| Berlaar, Belgium | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Castle |
| Owner | NV Hof Van Rameyen |
| Open to the public | no |
 | |
Rameyen Castle (Dutch:Hof van Rameyen) is a castle on a lake in Gestel, part of the municipality ofBerlaar, in theprovince of Antwerp,Belgium. It was once owned byNicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen, who died in the castle. Nicolaas was the second son ofPeter Paul Rubens.
The first known owner of Rameyen castle in Gestel wasJan II Berthout van Berlaer who lived in thecastle in 1303. The oldest part of thecastle is the square keep. This heavy tower dates to the 13th century. The keep was fitted with cannon holes in the 16th century.
A beautifulcastle was built around the keep by Van Immerseele and de Cock families. Boudewijn de Cock sold thecastle in 1643 toNicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen, the second son of the famous painterPieter Paul Rubens. Thecastle stayed as a property of theRubens family until 1759. During the 17th century thecastle underwent major restorations and remodelling but at the end of the same century thecastle 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 thecastle until 1888. Other restorations took place in 1906. DuringWWI thecastle was damaged but the restorations were already finished before thewar ended. The last restorations took place in 1960.
Joseph and Claartje de Gruyter bought the 700-year-oldcastle in 1995. “It was love at first sight,” Mrs. de Gruyter recalled of the castle, situated nearAntwerp in northernBelgium. But the moatedchateau, while livable, desperately needed modernizing. So shortly after moving in, the couple sought help from Rutger Steenmeijer, of R. Steenmeijer & H. Baksteen architects, andAxel 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.
51°07′23″N4°40′59″E / 51.123°N 4.683°E /51.123; 4.683
.jpg)
