Kasteel Landwijk

Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Landwijk (Landwijk Castle) is a historic manorial estate and chateau in the municipality of Herk-de-Stad, in the Belgian province of Limburg, situated in a low-lying area of the Demer valley.

The name and site refer to the “hof te Landwijk,” a feudal Brabanthold estate that, together with the nearby cijnshof of Halbeek, was recorded in the 13th century and later passed through several noble families, including the Cannart van Hamal and de Heusch families.

In the 18th century, under baron Adrianus Willem de Heusch and his wife Barbara Gertrudis van Hilst, a new castle was built in 1756, as testified by the coat of arms of the de Heusch–van Hilst–Caproens family in the building’s fronton, while the lordship rights over Landwijk were formally acquired in 1770.

The estate remained in the de Heusch family through inheritance until 1869, when it was sold to the van Straelen family, and later, in 1962, the castle and grounds were converted into a home for orphan boys, a use that ended after a short period and marked the beginning of the property’s decline.