Top 7 Castles around Houtkerque

The most beautiful town in France (2023, according to the French)

Formerly called 'Chalet Schabaillie' after the builder and former resident, brickmaker A. Schabaillie. Mansion with a tower that gives the whole a castle-like appearance. The property stands in the middle of a still partly wooded garden with an L-shaped coach and stable wing to the north of which the facade faces the street. A garden pavilion leans against the garden wall to the northeast. On the street side, there is a low garden wall with a gate between pedestals to the right of the paved driveway. The whole was later divided: the former coach and stable wing now serves as a warehouse, part of the garden on the street side was subdivided and includes low new construction. The eclectic architectural style is characterized, among other things, by the decorative use of yellow and yellow-painted bricks and refers to similar local 'castles' from the same period. Mansion on a rectangular floor plan. Double house of two bays + central tower and entrance risalit of one bay + a wide bay ending in a dormer window with a gable roof, and two storeys under a hipped roof with an iron ridge, decorated with lilies, small dormers, and high chimneys, among other things. A year stone 1900 is incorporated into the gable. Red brick construction with the use of yellow bricks for horizontal facade bands, corner stones, finishing panels, and relieving arches of the Tudor and round arched openings. A wooden loggia is located to the right on the main floor. Tower with three storeys under a truncated pyramidal roof with a lantern under a slate spire. The other facades have a similar facing. On the left side of the rear facade, there is a partly adjoining low extension (kitchen) under a hipped roof (ridge direction perpendicular to the main house, mechanical tiles), in a matching architectural style; conservatory against the garden facade. L-shaped coach and stable wing of one and a half storeys under a gable roof with mechanical tiles. The striking corner tower with a slate spire is crowned with iron decoration, referring to the ridge of the mansion. The inscription 'Anno 1914' is incorporated into the plastered casement of the dormer window. Analogous brick architecture; additional decorative motifs of yellow brick, including St. Andrew's crosses. The street facade is a variation on the traditional gable facade: the stepped gable with a Bruges bay, and the central arched coach gate above which is a round arched window crowned with a cross of yellow brick. The garden pavilion against the northeast garden wall is a variation on the medieval dovecote type. Octagonal low building under a slightly constricted spire (slate) with wooden dormers. Matching architectural style. Source: DELEPIERE A.-M. & HUYS M. 1989: Inventory of cultural heritage in Belgium, Architecture, Province of West Flanders, District of Ypres, Canton Poperinge, Building through the centuries in Flanders 11n2, Brussels - Turnhout. Authors: Delepiere, Anne Marie; Huys, Martine Date: 1989 Text made available by: Agency for Immovable Heritage (AOE) Additional information Number 20 forms the last part of the stable wing. The part facing the street has since been demolished, but the rear part with the tower is still preserved. Information obtained from the Intermunicipal Immovable Heritage Service CO7 (July 29, 2021). Authors: Jacobs, Els Date: 11-04-2022 Text made available by: Agency for Immovable Heritage (AOE)

The panoramic terrace of the Château de Cassel offers a breathtaking view of the Flanders plain. You can see the mill, the monument of the Three Battles and the old crypt. All are emblematic places of the site. On the way back down the alpine ramp, a tavern awaits walkers for a friendly break.

At 176 metres high, this is the highest point in the area. It is a former castle terrace and until 1788, the St. Peter's Church stood here, of which remains of the crypt are still present. The belvedere is also a viewpoint. The Roman highways that can be seen from here and that fan out in all directions are spectacular.

Esquelbecq Castle is a French castle located in the commune of Esquelbecq, in the Nord department and the Hauts-de-France region. To visit the castle it is open Saturday and Sunday but you can visit the garden for 5 euros and 10 euros for the garden and the castle 🏰 🤩

This village, bisected by the Yser in the middle of the French Westhoek, is typically Flemish with its Grand Place, surrounded by brick houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, and its large church. The blond and dark Esquelbecq beers are brewed here.

The castle 't Couthof, built as a summer residence in 1763, is surrounded by a 19th-century landscape-style park, characterized by a pond, grasslands, visual axes and scattered garden ornaments, furniture and buildings. The Couthof domain is open to the general public to a limited extent. You can walk on the cleared paths through the forest and around the old garden. Queen Mathilde spent many summers in the castle in her youth. In the past there was a maze with a neo-Gothic arcade, also called the gallows, as a landmark. The arcade is still there. This can be viewed in the Gravendreef.

A typical castle from the end of the 19th century was built in the Rekhof for brickmaker Alfonse Schabaillie.