Kasteel Weyninckhoven

Hove, Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Weyninckhoven is a historic castle and country estate in Hove, a small municipality in the Antwerp province of Belgium, situated at Geelhandlaan 1 just behind the town’s current administrative buildings.

The original landholdings date back to the 10th–13th centuries and the estate is first recorded in 1265 under the name Wanhijchoeuen, later evolving into the “hof” or manor of Weyninckhoven that was held by successive noble families including the van de Werve, t’Seraraets, Van der Rijt and Van Halmale lineages.

After periods of reconstruction and change of ownership, the estate in the late 18th and early 19th centuries took on its present neo‑classical, T‑shaped form, set within a tree‑lined park surrounded by a broad moat, with ancillary buildings such as a gardener’s house and coach house. In 1793 the castle and park were acquired by Helena‑Maria Geelhand, whose family retained the property for about 150 years; during that time the family added new wings, founded the local fanfare and left their distinctive “Geelhand” (whole‑hand) emblem on the building’s roof as a wind‑vane.

The municipality bought the castle and part of its grounds in 1951, converted the building into the commune’s town hall and wedding chapel, and opened the remaining park, now about 16 hectares, as a public walking area behind the castle. Today the castle is primarily a civic building used for council meetings and civil marriages, while the surrounding woodland and platanendreef avenue offer a tranquil green space for residents and visitors, preserving centuries of local history within a single, well‑preserved estate.