Hof Van Ringen

Lier, Belgium, Belgium

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Hof Van Ringen, also known as Kasteel Ringenhof, is a palatial neoclassical country house and estate on the edge of Lier in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, set in a wooded park along the river Nete at Mechelsesteenweg.

The site originally held a late‑medieval fortified farmhouse that by the 18th century had become a pleasure ground or “lusthof van Ringen” for the local Bogaerts brewers family. In 1849 the estate was bought by the landowner Auguste Berckmans, who had the Bogaerts pleasure house demolished and built the present two‑storey, rectangular palladian mansion in a late‑classical style.

A façade inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles, four columns framing three central windows and a flat roofline, giving the building a refined French‑influenced elegance. In the 20th century the property passed to the Lowet family and in 1996–1997 it was extensively restored and its park redesigned, with ponds, an orangery and various trees including rhododendrons, while the entire 24‑hectare domain was protected as a monument and townscape in 1995.

Today Hof Van Ringen is the private residence of the celebrated Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten, who lives in the historic building and continues to use it as a home rather than a public museum, so visits are generally not possible except for occasional guided events organized by the municipality or local heritage groups.