Castle Borluut - Ghent

Since 1997, the castle, together with the park and outbuildings and the castle avenue, has been a protected monument.

The Borluut area is first mentioned in the loan book of Sint-Pieters in 1411. It belonged to Jakob Borluut and remained in the hands of the Borluut family until 1744. On the Ferraris map the domain is mentioned as 'Wit Kasteel'.

After the sale in 1858, the current Borluut Castle came into the possession of the family of Count Balthazar Borluut d'Hoogstraete. He had it converted into a summer residence by architect Joseph Van Damme. The tower was only built in 1914 by the then owner Lucien Morel de Boucle Saint-Denis.

The last private owners, squire Mertens de Wilmars and his wife Suzanne Morel de Boucle Saint-Denis (1920-2013), sold the castle with park and Lindendreef (direction Kortrijksesteenweg) to the municipality of Sint-Denijs-Westrem. After the merger of the municipalities, it came into the possession of the city of Ghent. It opened the former Château Blanc to the public and gave it a cultural function . The ground floor is rented to cultural associations. There are several artists' studios on the first and second floors. Little has actually changed in the interior and when using it, one imagines oneself 100 years back in time.

Willem Vandenameele