Castle Hoogveld

At the end of the 18th century, the site of the current castle was still wild land, an extension of the Bulskampveld. In the first half of the 19th century, the area was reclaimed and planted with forests, with the drives laid out in a checkerboard pattern.

In 1846-1847, two rectangular plots in this area were developed by Antonius Herrebout, a doctor in Brugge. He had a farmhouse built with a barn and baking house. Around 1861, the small castle was then built. A chapel was present even before 1882.

In 1889, the small castle was owned by Clement van Outryve d'Ydewalle-de Thibault de Boesinghe. It was extended, resulting in the disappearance of the farmhouse. In 1920, the area, which previously belonged to the municipality of Ruddervoorde, was added to the new municipality of Veldegem. The family van Zuylen van Nyevelt-de Spoelberch then became the owner. Some expansion of the small castle was realized at that time. Possibly in the 1960s, the castle came to the family d'Udekem d'Acoz, and in 1982 it was purchased by the VKSJ, which built a pavilion on the grounds in 1985. Since then, the castle has been used as a meeting, training, and youth accommodation center.

The building is more or less cross-shaped. It has a north and a south wing, and there is a pentagonal extension to the west, which contains a chapel among other things. The interior is simple and contains neoclassical elements.

From around 1920, there is also a house in the southwest corner of the estate, a former farmhouse with a chapel that has a square floor plan and is covered by a tent roof. There is also an octagonal tea house and a park with several monumental trees.

Yvan Vandamme