Het Dreefkasteel

Belgium, Belgium

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Het Dreefkasteel is a historic country house and castle in Vinderhoute, a place that now belongs to the municipality of Lievegem in East Flanders, Belgium, situated at Kasteellaan 6.

It originated as an elegant “huis van plaisance” or pleasure house built in the last quarter of the 18th century in a classicist style, with a central block that was later extended on the left by two additional bays, giving the building its present eight‑bay façade and two storeys under a tiled roof. The main block is crowned by a triangular pediment in the centre, and the side facing the Neerstraat is topped by a balustrade with five 20th‑century concrete statues of mythological figures, while the entrance is framed in classical stone with decorative garlands and a crown line.

In the 19th century the castle was occupied by the families Blanckaert and Van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, including Jules van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, who was also mayor of the area, and in the 20th century it was the home of J. J. Bouckaert, a professor and temporary rector of Ghent University and the last mayor of Vinderhoute before its merger.

The building stands in a large garden laid out in the 19th century with a pond, an ice cellar that was later topped by a belvedere, and a small columned kiosk thought to date from the 1950s, and the whole ensemble has been protected as a monument since 1995. Today the Dreefkasteel is one of the notable castles in the Vinderhoute–Lovendegem castle stretch, and its gardens are occasionally opened to the public on events such as Heritage Day, allowing visitors to walk through the historic park and get closer to the building.