Kasteel Van Neigem

Ninove, Belgium, Belgium

---

Kasteel van Neigem is a historic castle in the village of Neigem, part of Ninove in East Flanders, Belgium, situated at Halsesteenweg 357–359 and technically on the neighbouring territory of Meerbeke.

The site is first mentioned in a 12th‑century charter as a “castrum”, and from the early 13th century it was the seat of the lords of Wedergraete (also called Contrecur), who had moved there from their earlier castle at Contrecoeur in Appelterre, and at that time the castle was a powerful fortress on a raised motte with a four‑sided donjon, surrounded by ditches, walls and strong enclosures, and protected by drawbridges.

Over the centuries the castle was repeatedly used as a garrison for foreign troops or as a shelter for local inhabitants, underwent major alterations in the 16th and 17th centuries, was severely damaged by a great fire in 1901, then rebuilt in 1949 but with one storey lowered, and in the 1990s was carefully restored again to approximate its original appearance, resulting in a neo‑traditional castle with an entrance gate, a forecourt and round corner towers on a preserved sandstone base and foundations, with cellars in so‑called Spanish brick.