Elst Castle Ruins

Duffel, Belgium

Elst castle ruins in Duffel is one of the oldest buildings in the province of Antwerp. The oldest reference dates from the 12th century. At that time castle was owned by the brothers Hildincshusen. From 1356 until the French Revolution in 1789 the castle was owned by the Tongerlo Abbey and was inhabited by the steward. It was also used as a residence for the nobility. In 1584 the castle burned down and was then rebuilt. In the late 16th century it was a vicarage.

According to 17th- and 18th-century drawings Elst castle was a large building surrounded by moat and gardens. In 1799 the castle was sold to Louis Hermans showed demolish three of the four main buildings of the complex and restored the wing part with the towers. During the First World War the castle was badly damaged.

References:

Wikipedia

Is there a floor plan for this castle?

Address

Ter Elstlei 16, Duffel, Belgium

See all sites in Duffel

Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Belgium

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

St. Rumbold's Cathedral (6,9 km)
Mechelen Town Hall (7 km)
Large Béguinage (6,7 km)
Church of Our Lady of Leliendaal (7,2 km)
Palace of Margaret of Austria (6,8 km)

St. Nicholas Church (28,8 km)
La Grand-Place (28,9 km)
Brussels Town Hall (28,9 km)
Antwerp City Hall (16,2 km)
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (29,3 km)
Cathedral of Our Lady (16 km)
Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg (29,2 km)
Royal Palace of Brussels (29,2 km)
Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon (29,5 km)

User Reviews

Alex Rory (3 years ago)
Nice park. Quite place to come to your senses in this busy world.

Rado (4 years ago)
Pretty large Park with a lot of animals (has a little Zoo inside), a fort castle with Rams inside but I haven't seen them for a while. Some water, bridges, street workout place, playground, I think there are fishing spots also Very nice place!

Gerry Ghostrider (4 years ago)
This is a very nice place in the heart of Duffel. The castle used to be open to the public but that has changed over the last couple of years. Ter Elst, locally known as Kasteel Ter Elst, lies on an islet in a public park. The history of Ter Elst reaches back to the 12th century. It was then owned by the Hildinckhusen brothers, the oldest known lords of Duffel. The castle lies close to the river Nete.

shasha Guintapa (4 years ago)
Its Nice to walk around and it's aquite place.

Andy Evans (5 years ago)
There are some deer and birds nearby that added to the experience. Consensus was that the pheasant was the most beautiful.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.