Kasteel Rooigem

Bruges, Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Rooigem is a historic country estate in Sint-Kruis, a suburb of Bruges in West Flanders, Belgium, located at Rooigem 1–3. The site originated in the 16th century as a moated manor called “Royeghem,” which was bought by Joos Cobrysse, who built a castle with a forecourt and a gatehouse; in the 17th and early 18th centuries it was enlarged and described as a handsome and notable estate.

In 1720 the castle was acquired by Hendrik Jozef van Susteren, bishop of Bruges, and later by his successor Jan Robert Caïmo, who transformed it into a grand country residence in the 1760s, laying out French-style gardens with tree-lined avenues and commissioning about 14 statues for the park, and by 1764 the estate was praised as one of the most pleasant and beautiful pleasure gardens in all Flanders.

In the 19th century the park was reModelled in the English landscape style, with new ponds, rare trees, and the damming of old moats, while the main building was extended with two additional bays on the east side and the original small turret removed; the estate also includes a U-shaped farm building (neerhof), a duivepost (dovecote), a 1774 bridge, a monumental gatehouse, a 17th-century house, 19th-century stables, and an orangery, all set within a large moated enclosure and a nine-hectare park with some trees over 200 years old.