Hof Van Roosendael

Antwerp, Belgium, Belgium

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Hof van Roosendael is a historic Renaissance‑style country house and park in Merksem, a northern suburb of Antwerp, Belgium, located at Terlindenhofstraat 265.

The site originally housed a medieval farmstead called “De Kijckuyt”, first mentioned in the late 15th century, which was completely destroyed during the siege of Antwerp in 1585 and then rebuilt in the early 17th century as a “huis van plaisantie”, or pleasure house, with the present building probably dating from around 1609.

In 1691 the estate was acquired by the Antwerp chief almoner Theodoor (Th.) van Roosendael, whose name later became attached to the property, and the surviving structures retain features from that period, including a brick gatehouse with a stepped gable and small turrets inscribed with the year 1632 and the coat of arms of the Roosendael‑Courtois family.

After passing through several owners, the municipality of Merksem bought the domain in 1924; after restoration in the 1930s it first served as a music academy and drawing school, and since the second half of the 20th century it houses the headquarters and local history museum of the Koninklijke Kring voor Heemkunde van Merksem, which preserves documents, maps and objects relating to the history of Merksem.