Castle of Zwijnaarde

"Castle of Zwijnaarde" also called "Castle della Faille". Currently a fairly recent castle with surrounding park, preserved ramparts and access lane from the village centre, now sadly separated from the actual castle grounds by the E3 motorway. Important history, going back to the 14th century: earliest mention of 1345 in which the castle was ceded to St. Peter's Abbey by Wouter van Zwijnaarde. Since 1420 it has been prescribed by protocol as a residence for the Counts of Flanders the night before they received the investiture in St. Peter's Abbey and made their joyful entry in Ghent. Among other things, he was the temporary residence of Isabella of Austria, sister of Charles V and wife of Christian II, King of Denmark; She died there in 1526. Destruction during the iconoclasm and reconstruction under abbot Joachim Arsenius Schayck in the 17th century. The castle is known for an engraving by Sanderus: a rectangular walled castle with courtyard, corner turrets and stepped dormer windows. In 1797 it was publicly sold by the French together with all the confiscated goods of St. Peter's Abbey. Since the first half of the 19th century, it has been owned by the della Faille d'Huysse family. Circa 1836 (confer land registry data) reconstruction of the castle in a contemporary neoclassical style but built on the old fortifications surrounded by water. Destroyed during the First World War (1918) and rebuilt again in 1922 in its current form, in neo-rococo style, designed by architect Eugène Flanneau (Brussels).

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