Vêves Castle, Houyet, Belgium

The Castle of Vêves, close to the village of Celles, is an exceptional heritage site due to the pristine state of preservation of and one of Belgiums the most remarkable examples of late mediaeval military architecture. According to tradition, the site has been occupied by castles since the time of Pippin of Herstal (7th century). In the later Middle Ages, the area fell under control of the Beaufort family, which oversaw the construction of a stronghold here in about 1230.

The present castle, in the form of an irregular pentagon and flanked by six round towers of varying size, dates largely from around 1410. Successive restorations modified especially the walls of the inner courtyard, one of which is lined with a distinctive half-timbered gallery of two levels, and another of which was given a red brick facade in the Louis XV style. The northern frontage is crowned with a small cupola containing a clock.

Vêves castle is open to the public.

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User Reviews

Tony Roma (2 years ago)
Fantastic well preserved and presented Belgian castle. Costumes for the kids to wear and a beautiful setting. Highly recommend the visit.

Alice M (2 years ago)
A lovely place to visit as a family, we had fun looking around the castle and trying the costumes on. It was a beautiful place and has a small cafe for drinks. It didn’t take very long to look around however so definitely more of a morning/afternoon trip not a day trip.

Marek Sopko (2 years ago)
The castle is beautifull but they have very confusing opening hours... we were there just for 30 minutes and saw 3 couples trying to go in... and we saw some bus probably with visitors (cannot confirm), opening hours are on the front gate but I think this is only place with real dates... we followed google which said is open, but in reality was closed...

Michalis Polyadis (2 years ago)
The castle is a bit small but very well taken care of. Small children are given a helmet, a knight's robe and a wooden sword during their visit, in order to see the castle dressed.

Peter Schmidt (2 years ago)
It is a decent castle, nothing too crazy, pretty standard. The coolest thing is probably if you have kids. They have little prince(ess) outfits and my daughter really enjoyed the experience. One downside is that the little descriptions on things were written in French and Dutch but almost never English.

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Kakesbeck is one of the largest medieval fortifications in Münsterland and the oldest castle in Lüdinghausen. The imposingly grown complex originated in 1120 as a motte, a small hilltop tower castle. After numerous changes of ownership, the castle was extended onto two islands, but it was not until the 14th century that it underwent significant alterations and extensions under the von Oer family. The estate experienced its heyday in the middle of the 18th century, when it covered an area of almost one square kilometre and consisted of five further outer castles in addition to the core castle, which were secured by ramparts and moats.

The well-maintained condition of the castle today is thanks to the late Wilfried Grewing, the former lord of the castle. The foundation named after him has been particularly committed to preserving the property since 2020.

Vêves Castle

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