Castle Raepenburg

The castle site was established around 1800, almost on the border of Ruddervoorde and Zwevezele, consisting of a driveway, a neoclassical castle, located in a spaciously arranged park with the coach house to the north, a walled kitchen garden, and a farmhouse with stabling.

In 1798, Bernard van Severen (1761-1837), together with his wife Anne-Marie De Stoop, purchases a large piece of forest land from the former Munkenhof estate, which was previously owned by the Bruges Ter Duinen Abbey. Bernard van Severen, who lives on Geldmuntstraat in Bruges, plays a significant role during both the French and Dutch periods, eventually becoming interim governor and provincial council member under the Belgian Kingdom. Around 1800, he has a small castle built on the purchased land in Ruddervoorde. It is a country house with a compact, triangular floor plan and a semicircular extension at the back, entirely executed in a sober Empire style. The facades are plastered and painted white, and the front façade features a centrally located entrance bay flanked by two columns, topped by a simple balcony with railings, all set in a fine round-arched niche. The castle is situated in an extensive park with an elongated pond and a double tenement farm to the north with outbuildings and a kitchen garden.

In 1837, the daughter of Bernard van Severen, Clémence van Severen (1801-1873), who was married to knight Eugène van Outryve d'Ydewalle (1797-1854), inherits the estate. They continue to live in the castle until her death in 1873. In 1840, the outbuildings of the castle farm are converted into the current coach house, and an existing small outbuilding is enlarged to serve as a stable volume next to the kitchen garden. From 1873 onwards, the castle is inhabited by two children of Clémence van Severen, namely Pauline and Emmanuel van Outryve d'Ydewalle.

In 1911, the castle is inherited by their cousin, knight Stanislas van Outryve d'Ydewalle (1871-1959), the later mayor of Sint-Andries, who never lives there himself. Around 1913, Bruges architect Alphonse De Pauw (1867-1937) makes a design drawing for the castle in Louis XV style. However, likely due to the impending First World War, the design is never executed. In the second half of the 1920s, the castle "Raepenburg" is significantly remodeled based on a design by architect Maurice Hocepied (1894-1978). Hocepied, who is active in the reconstruction of the former front area after the First World War, settles in Bruges around 1922-1923, where he is associated as a freelance collaborator with the office of architect Alphonse De Pauw until his death in 1937. The renovation of "Raepenburg" involves an expansion eastward: the front façade is pushed one bay forward, a semicircular extension is added to the south side, and the remaining facades are rebuilt in imitation stone. The previously modest Empire residence is transformed into a neoclassical castle. Around 1930, the bridge over the pond in front of the castle is removed. During the First and Second World Wars, the Germans take over the castle and, among other things, have several trees and driveways cut down. From 1932, the castle is inhabited by the couple Léon van Outryve d'Ydewalle and Ghislaine de Schietere de Lophem. In 1957, they sell the castle to merchant Lucien De Backere from Beveren. Since 1987, the castle has been owned by the current residents, the Bernard d’Udekem d’Acoz family, a cousin of our queen.

Yvan Vandamme