Couwelaar Castle

Antwerp, Belgium, Belgium

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Couwelaar Castle, also called Te Couwelaar or De Drie Torekens (“The Three Turrets”), is a historic castle in the Deurne district of Antwerp, Belgium.

First mentioned in 1402 as belonging to Pieter van Immerseel, it was originally a 16th– to 17th-century water castle surrounded by canals and gardens, and by the early 17th century it already had six towers and ornate pleasure grounds, as shown in a 1625 painting.

The castle changed hands many times, was significantly altered in the 18th century by Pedro de Man, who removed four of the towers and gave the building a more classical look, and was later restored in a historicist style around 1850, adding neo-Renaissance and Rococo details to its L-shaped main building with wings, two round towers at the front, and a built-in square tower at the rear.

In the 20th century the estate was reduced as the surrounding land was developed, the castle was used for administrative services, workshops and storage, and in recent years it was sold to new owners committed to restoring its historic character; it has now been converted into five cohousing apartments while remaining a protected monument and a distinctive landmark in Deurne.