ボーヴシェンの洞窟・トップ20

After the gruesome murder of the last owner, Baroness Thérèse Ernst de Bunswyck, the municipality purchased part of the estate, including the castle, which now serves as Boutersem's town hall. Other lots went to different owners, so the heritage's unity is somewhat lost, with several buildings besides the castle itself. However, there's much more than meets the eye.

The castle's core dates back to 1718, modified several times during the 19th century, and eclectically renovated after 1922; the castle and its outbuildings are surrounded by a 16.5-hectare park, originally a high courtyard with a watermill and mill pond; a classic 18th-century valley floor site, redeveloped in an early landscape style around 1830-1835; redeveloped around 1900 in a late landscape style; municipally owned since 1980; ice and vegetable cellars, numerous old trees. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Kwabeek Castle Estate, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/41588

A beautiful driveway - with a fairly recent iron wayside cross at the beginning - takes you to this 'castle' that has a beautiful domain behind it with quite a few special trees and a large pond. The castle, as a plaque at the entrance says, was inhabited by a certain baron Jean-Pierre de Beaulieu, actually Jean-Pierre baron de Beaulieu-Marconnay in full and Johann Peter von Beaulieu in German. Why in German? Well, Jean-Pierre, J-P to his friends, was born in Lathuy in 1725. And that was part of the Austrian Netherlands at the time. And J-P became a general in the Austrian army where he fought against the Prussians during the Seven Years' War and against the French during the First Coalition War. In the battle against the French, led by a young man named Napoleon, Beaulieu became an artillery general and commander of the Austrian army in Italy. In 1796, however, he was replaced because he had not succeeded in stopping Bonaparte's troops. He died in 1819 in Linz, Austria, on his estate at the ripe old age of 94. So he did not stay here very often. But the domain is still worth it. The castle you see here is not the first one. The first was built around 1777 by the lord general and a second one was built in 1803. Only a few elements of the first castles remain due to destruction during the war. At the end of the 19th century, the castle came into the hands of the Pastur family. That is the same family that bought the castle in Jodoigne that later became known as Pastur Castle - see https://www.komoot.com/nl-nl/highlight/5965104 Finally: in Lathuy you can follow a 'de Beaulieu walk', information board near the church.

Huldenberg Castle is nestled between wooded hills and rolling meadows in the picturesque Dijle Valley. Although it is privately owned and not open to visitors, the stately building with its towers and surrounding park forms a beautiful backdrop along your route. Enjoy the peaceful view and the charming atmosphere of the historic landscape here.

Rebuilt eclectic country house designed in 1916 by architect Chrétien Veraart and surrounded by a park in landscape style, approximately 16 hectares, laid out from 1859; numerous old (sweet chestnuts and brown beeches) and rare trees. First, the Hof te Laar stood here, known since the fifteenth century as a leasehold farm of the monastery of Gempe. In 1789, it was sold to the son of the Baron van Roosbeek. Between 1800 and 1810, the Hof te Laar was purchased by Charles-Lambert-Joseph de Maurissens. He left it to his nephew, knight Edouard Godefroid de Maurissens (1793-1853). And a few years after his death, the south wing of the court was converted into a "castle". After WWII, the then owners left the castle domain and in 1948 the heirs sold the castle and park to the University of Leuven to build a 'sanatorium' (clinic for tuberculosis sufferers) on the edge of the park. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Domain de Maurissens, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/303094

The castle has undergone several transformations over time. It is not known whether there was already a castle before 1490. Shortly after 1490, Jan van Houthem built a fortified castle with an inner courtyard surrounded by moats. At the end of the 17th century, it was converted into a typical French castle with a French garden, straight lanes and square ponds. In 1705, it was shelled during the reconquest of the southern Netherlands from the French and was largely demolished in the course of the 18th century. Around 1811, a villa in "empire" style was built on the foundations. This villa burned down in 1848 and was rebuilt in the same style. The villa was not ideal to live in due to the damp IJsevalei and was extensively converted in 1926-1927 into the Flemish-style castle as we know it today.

Kasteelpark De Bunswyck is a historically protected site of 9.5 hectares that offers a panoramic view of the Molenbeek from above. The area consists of a Small and a Large Park. The latter is 7.5 hectares in size, was purchased by the city and has been open to the public since 2024. Of course, not all steps in the management plan have been completed yet, but you can already go for a walk. The domain was originally a hunting domain, in the nineteenth century clay was extracted and then the area was bought by the de Bunswyck family who built the castle there. In 1937, the Hottat-Hennau family bought the whole lot and in 2021 the park was protected as a cultural-historical landscape with a high biodiversity value. Please note: it rises a little here and there and can be a bit swampy in some places, so do not underestimate it. The walk in the Large Park is therefore not wheelchair accessible. You don't have many views during this period with all the greenery and there are a lot of trees anyway. The parts where you can peek through the trees show an impressive view when you are (almost) "up". There are also some older park buildings that need to be restored and hikers have certainly discovered it. There were quite a few hikers (about half with a dog) when I passed by but it is still an oasis of green and peace when you look at the location. Info and plan on the board on site (with the photos).

A large white villa behind a wall and gate has the appearance of a castle here...