Castle Wijnendale

Torhout, Belgium, Belgium

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Castle Wijnendale (Dutch: Kasteel van Wijnendale, French: Château de Wynendaele) is a historic castle and former medieval fortress in the hamlet of Wijnendale, about 3 km west‑northwest of Torhout in West Flanders, Belgium, at Oostendestraat 390, and is one of the most important and best‑known Flemish castles due to its long history and its role in several key political events.

Its origins date back to the 9th century, when a first fortress and village were destroyed by the Vikings around 879, and in 1085 Robert I, Count of Flanders, built an octagonal wooden fortress that became the foundation for the later stone castle, which was enlarged and rebuilt in stone around 1278 by Guy of Dampierre and later became a residence of Mary of Burgundy, Charles V, and, in the 20th century, King Leopold III, who in May 1940 held the famous discussion with his ministers in which he decided to stay in Belgium during the German occupation.

A decision that later led to his abdication; the castle was partially destroyed in the wars of religion in 1578, largely abandoned in the 17th century, and in 1811 Napoleon ordered the demolition of the whole castle except three towers and a wing, but after the Battle of Waterloo and a period as Dutch barracks it was bought in 1833 by banker J.P. Matthieu, and in the second half of the 19th century architect Felix Laureys reconstructed about two‑thirds of the original circular medieval plan in a Gothic Revival style with a romantic touch, adding a large tower and giving the present appearance of the castle, while parts of the north wing still date from the 15th century.