Ten Torre Castle

Ten Torre Castle, locally known as Kasteel Ten Torre, lies south of the village of Beernem, in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish region in Belgium. The prefix 'Ten' can be translated as 'at the', while 'Torre' means 'tower'.

Ten Torre Castle was first mentioned in 1353. How this original castle looked is unknown.

The present castle was built in 1845 by order of Hector, Baron Lebailly de Tilleghem, on the site of the former castle.

Around 1895, it was owned by Joseph de Meester de Ravenstein, who hired architect Stefaan Mortier to restore the castle. Mortier, inspired by the famous French architect Viollet-le-Duc, then constructed the current roof around the roof tower, which is still part of the structure. He also built the entrance porch with a loggia and an open gallery, and converted one of the corner towers into a watchtower. The surrounding park was also landscaped, and the moat was enlarged.

In 1914, due to the threat of World War I, the De Meester de Ravenstein family abandoned their castle and fled to the Netherlands. The next few years, Ten Torre stood empty until 1917, when several German officers took up residence. Rumor has it that even the German Crown Prince, Field Marshal Rupprecht of Bavaria, personally stayed at Ten Torre. German forces occupied the castle again during World War II. It was damaged in 1945 when it was shelled by the Allies and, after being liberated, was also shelled by the Germans.

Currently, Ten Torre Castle is private property and used as a luxury holiday residence available only for groups. It cannot be visited or seen from the public road. A very beautiful castle.

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