Karreveld Castle (; ) is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
-farm in
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
(French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western p ...
, a municipality of
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Belgium. The castle and surrounding park are used for cultural events and meetings of the municipal council. This site is served by
Osseghem/Ossegem metro station on lines
2 and
6 of the
Brussels Metro
The Brussels Metro ( ; ) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three '' premetro'' lines. The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 wi ...
.
History
The estate was owned since 1780 by the Villegas family,
who already owned
Rivieren Castle in the nearby municipality of
Ganshoren
Ganshoren (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Jette, and ...
.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle was one of the birthplaces of
Belgian Cinema. At the request of
Charles Pathé
Charles Morand Pathé (; 26 December 1863 – 25 December 1957) was a pioneer of the French film and recording industries. As the founder of Pathé, Pathé Frères, its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when Pathé and his brothers pioneered ...
(
Pathé
Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe.
It is the name of a network of Fren ...
Cinéma), the director
Alfred Machin commissioned the first film studio in the country, together with a workshop for the construction of film sets and a mini zoological garden for exotic animals, such as bears, camels and panthers used as 'extras' in films. Several films, including the first two Belgian feature films ''La Fille de Delft'' and the sadly prophetic ''
Maudite soit la guerre'' (in hand-painted colours) were shot by Alfred Machin in the studio of Karreveld Castle.
The municipality of Molenbeek bought the castle in 1930 and used a large part of the estate for urbanisation works (/, streets and villas). The park was converted into a
public park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...
in 1952, and the buildings were almost entirely rebuilt between 1952 and 1958;
they now house a cultural space and municipal services.
Events
Festival Bruxellons!
Every summer, from mid-July to September, the castle grounds host the , a theatre festival open to other
performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...
(i.e. magic, music, circus, etc.). Created in 1999, at the initiative of the municipality of Molenbeek, this festival has grown to offer up to thirty shows for a total of around 100 performances each summer. The programme is centred on Belgian artists and on a popular theatre dynamic that aims to share the best of theatre with as many people as possible.
The Blue Flamingo – Jazz Festival
The Blue Flamingo – Jazz Festival is a cycle of seasonal events dedicated to
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. It has been co-produced by the municipality of Molenbeek since 2010. The concerts offered take place on Friday and Saturday evenings, three or four weekends a year.
Gallery
File:Chateau du Karreveld - Molenbeek.jpg, View from the park
File:Karreveld Castle (1).jpg, Front view
File:Karreveld Castle (3).jpg, Rear view
File:Karreveld Castle (4).jpg, Lateral view
See also
*
List of castles and châteaux in Belgium
*
History of Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...
*
Culture of Belgium
The culture of Belgium involves both the aspects shared by all Belgians regardless of the language they speak and the differences between the main cultural communities: the Dutch-speaking Belgians (mostly Flemish) and the French-speaking B ...
*
Belgium in the long nineteenth century
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "Long nineteenth century, long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Habsburg monarchy, Austrian rule and periods of French First Republic, French ...
References
External links
*
{{Castles in Belgium
Castles in Brussels
Culture in Brussels
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean