Château Cleydael

Aartselaar, Belgium, Belgium

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Château Cleydael is a medieval moated water castle in Aartselaar, in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, standing on an island formed by two branches of the Struisbeek (Benedenvliet) river near the Scheldt.

Its origins reach back to the 13th and 14th centuries, with the first secure mention in 1300 when it was owned by the family Sanders, and parts of the main building date from the 14th century, making it one of the oldest and most important castles in the region. The castle has a square plan with four wings around a central courtyard and is flanked by four different corner towers, each with its own name and shape.

The Tower of Owls and the Cats Tower on the west, the square Fox Tower on the northeast, and the Chapel Tower on the southeast, which once housed a chapel with a starry vault. Over the centuries the estate changed hands many times, passing through the Van der Elst, Hellemans, and even the Spanish Del Rio families, and was repeatedly damaged, burned, and rebuilt, with major restorations in the 17th century and again in the 1950s, after which it was partially integrated into the Cleydael Golf & Country Club domain, whose clubhouse occupies historic buildings on the bailey.