Hof Ter Cruisse

Kaprijke, Belgium, Belgium

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Hof Ter Cruisse (also written Hof ter Cruysse or Hof Ter Kruisen) is a small Renaissance castle in the village of Kaprijke in East Flanders, Belgium, located at Vaartstraat 49.

The core of the building dates from the first half of the 16th century and it is already recorded on Pieter Pourbus’s 1561 map of the area, with Reynier de Sallaert as its earliest known owner. After being destroyed in the religious wars of the late 16th century, the castle was rebuilt in the early 17th century, notably under Arnout Hauweel, and later passed through the families de Ysebrant and Maelcamp, the latter still owning it today.

Architecturally, the brick-and-sandstone building features a stepped gable with a 1628 stone bearing a coat of arms, a square stair tower added in the 18th century, and interior elements such as a Renaissance fireplace in the “beste kamer” and a late-Gothic fireplace in the kitchen. Historically, the site originally had a triple moat system enclosing an upper court with the castle, a lower court, and an orchard, though part of the moats was later filled in.

The castle underwent major restoration in the 1960s and 1970s, and the gateway to the lower court on the street side was restored in 2006, and it is now a protected monument in East Flanders.