Kasteel Vilain

Lo-Reninge, Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Vilain, also known as Kasteel van Reninge, is a Flemish Renaissance manor house in the village of Reninge, part of the commune of Lo‑Reninge in West Flanders, Belgium, situated at Dorpplaats 1 and originally built in 1627 as the seat of the lords of Reninge before later becoming the home of the Vilain family.

The castle replaced earlier, more military fortifications and was constructed in brick with two parallel wings arranged around a courtyard; its main façade displays the coat of arms of the Vilain family and the motto De Gand Vilain sans reproche (“From Ghent, Vilain beyond reproach”), while the entrance is marked by a Tudor arch and the windows and gables are decorated with crow‑step gables and a small octagonal turret on the roof.

The house was badly damaged during the First World War and then restored, with some small modifications to the original design, and it has remained in the hands of the Vilain descendants, who in the 17th century received from King Louis XIV of France the privilege of adding the number XIIII to their name in recognition of their support for French interests.