Top 18 Castles around Halen

The castle of the Lords of Kozen stands at the intersection of three municipalities: Kozen, Wijer, and Stevoort. Strictly speaking, the castle is located on the territory of Wijer, the farmstead is in Kozen, and the barn is in Stevoort. The castle site was once connected to these three villages. The oldest known Lords of Kozen belong to the Van Wesemael family, who lived in the fourteenth century. Around 1400, the manor and castle belonged to the De Diest family, and in the seventeenth century, the De Kerckhem family held sway here. Above one of the gates, a stone can be seen depicting the family's coat of arms twice. It dates from the time when Arnold de Kerckhem and his wife, Annemarie de Kerckhem, who was also his cousin, lived here. As late as the seventeenth century, the castle belonged for a time to the Land Commander of Alden Biesen. In 1699, the Van Afferden family acquired the estate. They are the last lords of Kozen. At the end of the nineteenth century, the castle was owned by a certain Jacquelart. He renovated the castle and gave it its current appearance.

Behind Fort Leopold there is a nice steep single track towards Schaffen airport.

An old fort that dates from the war. If there is a guide you can visit it. Really worth it. When you are on top of the fort you have a view over the entire city of Diest. In the fort also live a lot of bats.

Very dilapidated castle, but the castle farm is still habitable and well maintained.

beautifully maintained castle with adjacent B&B, nice cycling/hiking trails

Kasteel Binderveld is currently for sale, although you can't see it from the outside. You'll have to ask the price yourself if you're looking for "absolute peace and refined luxury in breathtaking surroundings" and still have a sock full of money under your bed somewhere. https://www.luxevastgoed.be/nl/pand/19807360159/landhuis-binderveld The VRT also paid attention to the sale: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/10/07/kasteel-van-binderveld-in-nieuwerkerken-staat-te-koop/

Motorists and cyclists who have passed along the road in front of the castle entrance have undoubtedly already seen the vineyard. That is part of the castle that is referred to here as "Wijnslot Byrleveldt". The vineyard was planted in 2019 and covers 1.5 hectares with 4500 special chardonnay vines. The wine from Wijnslot Byrleveldt is given the name 1661, referring to the year the gatehouse was built. Pressing the grapes, vinification, storage and bottling takes place on the estate. According to a winemaker from the Maas region who was also there, it is a wine that is certainly worth a try.

Binderveld Castle was the seat of a fief of the Counts of Loon. The first mention is in 1135 when Count Arnold van Loon and Olderick van Bilrevelt act as witnesses to the foundation of the Averbode Abbey. The fortified castle, surrounded by wide moats, has been inhabited by prominent families since 1250: from 1251 to 1371 the Van Montenaken family, in the 15th century the Van Hamal family, from 1525 the Van Grevenbroek family. Through a marriage, Hiëronymus de Copis comes to live there. He has the castle completely rebuilt (1635-1653). In 1637 it is severely ravaged by Dutch troops. In 1654 the troops of the Duke of Lorraine take the castle. In 1661 the watchtower is added and in 1681 the spire. In 1728, Joseph Le Roy-Coloma rebuilt the castle as it is today. The date stone with their coat of arms, above the door of the house, is a reminder of the reconstruction. In 1826, the controversial lord of the castle Joseph de Succa sold the castle to Joseph de Schrijnmakers. From 1903 onwards, it was sold several times and served as an agricultural business. A thorough renovation and restoration in 2015 turned this castle back into a moated castle: the house, the gardens and the lawn are all completely surrounded by water. Source: information board at the entrance and https://www.nieuwerkerken.be/infobord-kasteel-binderveld Attention: you can walk around the moat and have beautiful views, but the driveway itself is private property. Coincidentally, the current owners were there and they were just busy harvesting the grapes (see other tip).