Ter Heiden Tower

The tower is 30 m high and has 6 levels, of which the cellar and reception room are covered by a stone barrel vault. The 6 levels are connected by a stone spiral staircase. The tower itself stands on a white stone base in the water and was further constructed in brick with layers of iron sandstone.
In 1619, the noble family from Eynatten acquired ownership of this site. She rebuilt the tower according to the original plans, with the exception of the wall walkway, which was replaced by a roof with a pear turret. In 1631, de Eynatten built the beautiful country house in Flemish Renaissance style.

In 1870 the complex was expanded to brew beer. Brewing has been carried out since 1870 by the Smedts family, who acquired ownership of this site in 1909. They stopped their activities in Rotselaar in 1938 and continued brewing in Kampenhout until 1993. The beautiful brick chimney is a silent witness to this.

The complex has been protected as a monument since 1942 with a thorough restoration of the tower in 1948. Today the entire property is in the hands of a private owner.
(donjonterheyden.be)

The Donjon Ter Heyden, also known as tower or castle of Ter Heyden, is a residential tower in Rotselaar dating from the middle of the fourteenth century. The donjon was built between 1350 and 1363 by order of Gerard van der Heyden, the then drossaard of the Duchy of Brabant, when he acquired the status and the funds to erect a structure of such caliber through a marriage to a noblewoman.


Although donjons originally had a military function, in the late Middle Ages they were mainly built as status symbols, because of the associations with nobility and chivalry. The Ter Heyden donjon was thus primarily intended to be lived in.

The donjon differs from other donjons, which are usually built on a motte, in that it is directly surrounded by a moat. The tower rests on a pedestal of white sandstone, is built of brick, is 30 meters high and has six floors in the shape of a Greek cross.

On the ground floor was the lord's reception room. Below that are two basement floors and above that two spacious living quarters. The top floor functioned as a bedroom.

Originally, the tower had a flat roof with a weatherboard. The spire with the pear-shaped turret was not added until the seventeenth century by the noble Eynatten family, who acquired the estate in 1619.[3]

In 1870, the keep was purchased by the Duke of Arenberg, who mistakenly assumed that it was a remnant of the castle of Rotselaar, which had belonged to his ancestors. The domain was leased by the brewer family Smedts, who installed a brewery in the adjoining mansion. The fireplace next to the mansion is a reminder of this economic activity.

The current owners are descendants of that brewing family. (Wiki)

The keep is actually part of the so-called Castle of Terheiden and surroundings.

Quote: "Former domain "Ter Heyden", feudal estate of the lords of Rotselaar. Raised to a barony during the 18th century. Picturesque ensemble of the previously moated castle tower with a core from the 13th-14th century and the later residential wing from the 17th century. Castle tower on floor plan in the shape of a Greek cross with chamfered extensions in the armpits; built of lime and iron sandstone using brick; raised, vaulted ground floor previously equipped with a drawbridge, seven floors and crown from the 17th century."

Immovable Heritage Inventory: Terheiden Castle, id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/42697