Castle of Zellaer

The castle of Zellaer was built in 1885 by order of Baron de Vrière. The neo-Gothic moated castle was designed by the Mechelen architect Heugenbaarts and is a copy of a 15th-century Loire castle. The stones came from the forts of Vilvoorde.
Originally there was already a feudal water castle from the middle of the 13th century, founded by Wouter Berthout. At the beginning of the 13th century there was also talk of an Arnold van Zellaer as the first inhabitant.

In 1962, the lay order Foyer de Charité settled there and until 2016 the castle was used as a diocesan reflection center.
Since 2001, both the castle and the coach house have been protected as monuments.
In 2017, the municipality of Bonheiden became twenty percent owner of the domain and the entire domain is given to the non-profit association 'Kempens Landschap' on leasehold.
The ambition is to make the domain accessible to everyone in 2018.

Thierry!