Castle Trockaert

Wellen, Belgium, Belgium

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Castle Trockaert (Dutch: Kasteel Trockaert, also called Trockart) is a historic moated manor house in the village of Ulbeek, part of the municipality of Wellen in the province of Limburg, Belgium, situated at Trockaertweg 2 and recognised as one of the oldest castle estates in southern Limburg and the only such site in the area of “Groot‑Wellen”.

The estate was originally a 17th‑century land‑property belonging to the De Vocht family; in the 18th century it was developed into an aristocratic residence bâti à la moderne in a classical style, with in 1865 and 1883 new farm and service buildings added outside the moat while the old front court was removed, and the present core of the castle, including the gatehouse and the residential wing attached to its right, dates from the 17th century.

The building is fully surrounded by a preserved moat, has an L‑shaped layout with an additional north‑west wing, a round corner tower with a pointed roof, and on the interior 17th‑century vaulted cellars, two Louis XVI‑style chimneys, a salon with late‑18th‑century stucco ceiling, a rococo staircase and Rococo fireplace, as well as Delft blue tiled fire‑places.

In front of the castle there is a formal French garden in geometric shapes, and behind it a landscape park of about six hectares with woods, water features and small bridges, while historic wrought‑iron gates and other original elements have been preserved, making Trockaert a quiet, privately owned monument that can be admired from the outside and from the surrounding paths, rather than a fully open museum, but still a notable example of a moated 17th‑century estate transformed into a classical country house in the Wellen‑Ulbeek region.