Hofke van Roosendael

The Hofke is a surviving part of a much larger building that was bombed by the Allies in 1944. The castle was built in 1637 as a country house for the wealthy Roosendael family. In the 19th century it became a poorhouse.

Since its foundation in 1939, the Koninklijke Kring voor Heemkunde Merksem vzw has set itself the goal of collecting, preserving, studying and publishing data and objects about the history of Merksem. Since 1970, the Circle has had its own rooms in the Hofke van Roosendael, where the heme museum "de Kijkuit" is located. The collection is on permanent display in this museum. At the same time, the documentation center was created in which the collected information about Merksem's past is stored.

Source: okv.be/museum/hofke-van-roosendael

The seat of the Royal Circle for Heemkunde is located in the Hof van Roosendael.

All books, documents, plans, utensils, heme and archaeological objects relating to Merksem are kept in the court.

History

On the spot where the Hof van Roosendael now stands, there used to be a 'city with a house' called 'De Kyckuyt'. In 1585, the city is said to have been completely looted and destroyed during the siege of Antwerp. The castle that now stands is the listed gatehouse of the Roosendaelhof, which disappeared in 1635. The manor was purchased by the municipality on September 30, 1924 and has been listed since July 31, 1936.