The Kasteeldreef was built in the second half of the seventeenth century, commissioned by Geraard van Vilsteren, baron van Laarne, in the second half of the seventeenth century. This private road between a double row of trees was used for travel between St. Macharius Church and the castle. At the beginning and at the end of the alley there were barges that were only opened for the castle residents. Next to the row of trees on the far right ran a country road, which was used by the inhabitants of Laarne. Until the beginning of the twentieth century there was little or no buildings in the Kasteeldreef.
The Kasteeldreef was planted with oaks in the seventeenth century. At the beginning of the eighteenth century they were replaced by beech trees and that remained so until the dry summer of 1976, when wild chestnuts replaced the dead beech trees. The chestnut trees were in turn replaced by young pedunculate oaks in 2010 and 2012.
The Kasteeldreef in Laarne is not the oldest avenue in the center of the municipality. The Achterdreef runs parallel to the Kasteeldreef, which probably dates from the Middle Ages. Both were the achievements of the castle owners and still determine the design of the center of Laarne.
Source: laarne.be