Kasteel Borgwal

Gavere, Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Borgwal is a historic castle estate located in Vurste, a village that forms part of the municipality of Gavere in East Flanders, Belgium.

The 18‑hectare domain is first mentioned in 1538 and has been owned over the centuries by various noble and patrician families, including Floris de Martaigne, count of Potelles, and later Antonius Triest, bishop of Ghent, who transformed it into a baroque country residence in the 17th century.

The estate consists of a water castle surrounded by a large pond, with a formal 18th‑century garden layout that includes garden bridges, grottoes, a Chinese tea pavilion, and an ice cellar, and is enclosed by a 1,700‑metre brick wall that also incorporates a small chapel. The main complex includes a lower court (neerhof) with a distinctive square dove tower, rebuilt in the 19th century after a 17th‑century predecessor, as well as a monumental entrance gate with a porter’s lodge and a U‑shaped arrangement of farm and service buildings.

Since 1975 the domain has been owned by the Congregation of the Broeders van Liefde (Brothers of Charity), who established it as a residence and support facility for adults with intellectual disabilities, and today it hosts the OC Broeder Ebergiste centre, with the park remaining publicly accessible for walking and nature recreation.