Loppem Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Loppem) is a
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
situated in
Loppem in the municipality of
Zedelgem
Zedelgem (; vls, Zillegem) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Aartrijke, Loppem, Veldegem and Zedelgem proper. On January 1, 2019, Zedelgem had a total population of 2 ...
, near
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...
in
West Flanders
)
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg
, shield_size =
, image_map ...
, in the
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and ...
of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
.
Unusually, it preserves its original architecture and interior decoration. The castle has a richly decorated and furnished interior, and houses a collection of works of art (paintings, stained glass, statuary). It is surrounded by a romantic park with ponds and a maze, which has itself been designated a protected heritage landscape.
The castle and park are now owned by the ''Stichting Jean van Caloen'' ("Jean van Caloen Foundation") and have been open to the public since 1975.
History
The castle was built between 1859 and 1862 for Baron
Charles van Caloen and his family, to designs by architects
E.W. Pugin and
Jean-Baptiste Bethune. It is considered a masterpiece of
Gothic Revival architecture
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
.
[
In late 1917, during the ]German Occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 193 ...
, the castle was requisitioned for the use of a German general and his staff. After the German withdrawal, the castle served as the residence of Albert I of Belgium
Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934.
Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern- ...
from 24 October until 25 November 1918.[ It was the site of a number of political meetings held by the King which became known as the Loppem Coup.
]
Gallery
Image:Loppem kasteel 01.jpg
Image:Loppem kasteel 02.jpg
See also
*List of castles in Belgium
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
Notes
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Loppem
Castles in West Flanders
Museums in West Flanders
Historic house museums in Belgium
Gothic Revival architecture in Belgium
1862 establishments in Belgium