Kasteel Peten-Van Halen

Sint-Truiden, Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Peten‑Van Halen is a 19th‑ and early 20th‑century country house, often called a castle, in Velm, a village in the municipality of Sint‑Truiden in the Belgian province of Limburg, located at Halingenstraat 84.

The building originated as a closed farm (gesloten boerderij) that was gradually transformed, especially in the early 20th century, into a neoclassical residence with an L‑shaped plan, a small turret covered by a high hip roof, and refined façade details that reflect the upward social status of its owners.

The main renovation was carried out by Clément Peten, a prominent local figure who was a parliamentarian, industrialist, horse breeder and mayor of Velm from 1868 to 1929, together with his wife Eugénie van Halen, whose name later became attached to the estate as “Peten‑Van Halen”. After Clément Peten’s son fell into difficulties maintaining the business and his wife preferred life in Brussels, the castle was sold in 1952 to the Sisters of Charity, who established a technical school and boarding school on the site, adding new buildings while leaving the historic castle itself largely untouched.

Around 2005 a private developer took over the entire domain and converted it into a large seniors’ care complex with a residential care centre and related services, transforming the former castle into a brasserie and hotel, while the surrounding park, with notable trees including a giant sequoia, was preserved as “Triamant park”.