Kasteeldomein Van Nieuwermolen

Dilbeek, Belgium, Belgium

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The Kasteeldomein van Nieuwermolen is a historic water‑castle estate in Sint‑Ulriks‑Kapelle, part of Dilbeek in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, named after a former water mill (the Nieuwermolen) that once stood on the Nieuwermolenbeek stream, and originally built around 1600 as an elegant “huis van plaisantie” (pleasure house) by a wealthy jurist family near that mill.

The castle is a moated, L‑shaped building in traditional brick and sandstone construction, with a central tower that may contain a 15th‑century core, wall anchors dated to 1596 and 1606, and a development that includes a coach house, a residential wing and a service wing, and it was rebuilt around 1750 and then extensively but carefully restored in the Flemish Renaissance style between 1928 and 1933 under architect Paul Saintenoy for Amaury Marc de Ghellinck and his family, who have lived there since and continue to own the estate.

The domain is set in a large, mostly hidden estate with ponds, woods and a historic garden plot of about 2 hectares, and within the park there is an unusual octagonal ice house from 1836 and rare trees such as an American amber tree, while the castle itself is protected as a monument since 1962 and is not open as a regular museum or tourist attraction, but on special occasions such as the 50th “Dilbeek op Wandel” event it has been opened to the public for a day.

Allowing visitors to walk through the park and admire the castle from a distance while respecting the privacy of the residents, and the estate has even been described in a dedicated book that traces its architecture, garden history and family stories, including a crashed American bomber plane on the grounds in 1944 and mysterious rooms and legends.