Kasteel Van Wippelgem "Goed Ten Hulle"

Evergem, Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Van Wippelgem, also known as “Goed Ten Hulle” and later as “Domein Ten Bosch”, is a historic estate in the village of Wippelgem, part of Evergem in East Flanders, Belgium, with its first documented mention in 1375 when it was owned by the Ghent patrician Sander Cante, and over the centuries it was successively held by Ghent families, the Della Faille and various noble lines, before becoming the property of the de Crombrugghe de Looringhe family in 1909.

After the original castle was destroyed by fire, it was completely rebuilt around 1892 in a neoclassical style, giving the present U‑shaped main building, which is plastered, two storeys high with a mansard roof, and surrounded almost entirely by a moat, while on the estate the 17th‑century round dove tower (duiventoren) dated 1623, the 19th‑century horse stables, the gardener’s house, the long castle farmstead with coach house and wagon house also from the late 19th century.

The 19th‑century ice cellar, an early‑20th‑century orangery and a walled kitchen garden are preserved as part of the complex, and the park itself is a protected landscape with a star‑shaped daven pattern, a large pond and a cross‑shaped arrangement of avenues, as well as a chestnut avenue and an iron gate with stone pillars and vase ornaments at the entrance. In 2008 the municipality of Evergem bought the entire 27‑hectare estate, of which about 15 hectares remain agricultural land and the rest is opened as a public park that is freely accessible from sunrise to sunset.

The castle building itself was converted into the official municipal wedding and event venue for marriages, jubilees and receptions, while the former coach house has been renovated and now serves as a social‑cultural hub and venue for events and gatherings, so that today the site functions both as a large public green space and as a polyvalent heritage landmark at Kramershoek 4 in Wippelgem, close to the Church of Our Lady of Troost and a popular place for locals, walkers and cyclists in the Meetjesland region.