Beersel Castle, ( Kasteel van Beersel ) is a castle-fortress located in the municipality of Beersel, south of Brussels, in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flanders region.
The castle was built between 1300 and 1310 by the first lord of Beersel, Godfrey of Hellebeke, Seneschal of Brabant, as a defensive fortress of the southern borders of the Duchy of Brabant against the Counts of Hainaut.
Surrounded entirely by a lake-moat, the castle is built entirely of bricks, which is very rare for the area, where only some elements were made of stone (corners of the walls, slits, window frames). It looks like a tight block with an elliptical plan dominated by three semi-cylindrical towers without a keep. The towers, originally flat roofed, were equipped with high pointed roofs resting on large stepped pediments around 1617, as marked on the towers themselves. The manor is accessed via a wooden pier that leads to a door with a drawbridge with a reconstructed mechanism.
Today Beersel Castle is open to the public and is considered It is one of the most beautiful castles in Belgium, completely surrounded by a lake.
Access : Coordinates: 50.7657, 4.2999 / Address : Lotsestraat, 1650 Beersel, Belgium
Highlights :
- Beersel Castle was built from brick, which gives it its typical red color. The clearly structured complex consists of a circular wall with an approximately circular polygonal floor plan and three similarly designed wall towers.
- In 1969, it was one of the two castles chosen for the shooting of the miniseries The Treasure of the Unnamed Castle (original title Les Galapiats) of French-Belgian-Canadian production.
- Much of the action on one of Willy Vandersteen’s Bob et Bobette series albums, Beersel’s Treasure, takes place in the castle.
- An episode of the mini-series Les Galapiats directed by Pierre Gaspard-Huit in 1969 was partly shot in this castle.
- In 1948, the castle was taken over by the Koninklijke Vereniging der Historische Woonsteden in Tuinen van België (“Royal Association of Historic Residences and Gardens in Belgium”), which leased it to the Beersel municipal authorities.
- opening hours : The castle is open to visitors from March to October. Opening hours vary / Entrance fees: Adults: €3 Children (up to 12): €1
Go next : Alsemberg ,a rural town in the municipality of Beersel / Dworp , a small town in the municipality of Beersel, south of Brussels in Flanders.
