Meldert Keep

The Meldert Keep, locally known as Donjon van Meldert, stands in the village of the same name, in the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish region in Belgium.

The Meldert Keep was likely built by Gautier van der Quaderbruggen after 1341, when he acquired the site from the Lords of Meldert. The keep is first mentioned in 1408, when Hendrik van Wencsele purchased all the properties of the Lords of Meldert.

In 1433, it was inherited by a Lybrecht van Meldert, a notable from the city of Louvain. During the 15th century, the keep lost its military purpose.

In 1568, the Meldert Keep was damaged by a fire. Possibly around that time, the Lords of Meldert built a new castle just south of the village, Meldert Castle. During the 18th century, the medieval keep fell into ruin.

The Meldert Keep is a square keep with a projecting stair tower, built from Gobertange stone, a local gray/white limestone. It was constructed as a moated site in a swampy area between two arms of the Molen brook. Originally, it likely had two floors above a cellar, but only the cellar and the first floor remain.

The site of the Meldert Keep is freely accessible. In 2011, when I visited it for the first time, its interior was also open to the public. This was not the case during my last visit. A nice, somewhat forgotten keep.

Gallery

2021

2011