Bokrijk Castle

Bokrijk Castle is located on the right side of the main entrance of the open-air museum. It is an imposing building at the entrance of the arboretum. Close to Bokrijk Castle and just before the entrance to the Open Air Museum you will also find Bistro Koetshuis. Enjoy yourself in a breathtaking setting.

The castle in Maasland neo-Renaissance style was originally a dream of the rentier Edgar Maris, who bought the Bokrijk domain from the Coghen family. Jacobus Van Mansfeld was recruited as an architect. However, Maris ran into financial difficulties and tried to supplement his resources by cutting down many trees on his domain and starting a wood wool factory. Bokrijk Station was also important for this: wood could be shipped. Iron ore, in the form of ore, was also mined on the domain.
All this was not enough to complete his project, and the domain was sold to Count Ferdinand de Meeûs after three years. It then took another five years, until 1898, before the castle was completed. In addition to a right wing, there was also a neo-Byzantine chapel and a French garden.

Source: Wikipedia.org

The castle was built in 1891 in Maasland Neo-Renaissance style. It took until 1898 before the castle was finished. In addition to a right wing, there was also a neo-Byzantine chapel and a French garden. In 1916 the count died and the domain came into the hands of brokers. After the liberation, in 1918, the domain was confiscated and it was not until 1928 that it was sold to S.V. Middenkredietkas (Boerenbond). Now a large farm was established, including a large poultry farm for that time, pigs, cows and asparagus cultivation. The soil was poor, which was reason enough to experiment with fertilizers, but the farm remained loss-making. Forestry for mining wood for the mines also offered no solace, because metal struts were increasingly used for this purpose. In 1937, the Middenkredietkas sold the entire domain to the province, creating the basis for the Bokrijk Provincial Domain.