Kasteel Befferhof

Bonheiden, Belgium, Belgium

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Kasteel Befferhof is a moated castle in Bonheiden, Belgium, named after the historic “Hof van Befferen,” which was once the appellate court for dozens of local magistrates in the old Land of Mechelen.

Originally a larger country house or manor farmhouse, that building burned down during the French Revolution, and the present castle was rebuilt in 1832 on the same foundations by F. Van Diepenbeeck, as noted on a stone in the facade. In 1929 the front was remodeled in neo-Vlaamserenaissance style, giving the castle its current appearance with a prominent central stepped gable, brickwork, decorative iron wall anchors, small corner towers, and roof windows, while the rear was later adapted in 1958.

The property is surrounded by a five-sided moat and a park planted with beeches and plane trees, and it lies close to the border with Mechelen and the natural area known as Mechels Broek in the Dijle valley. Today Kasteel Befferhof is a private residence and not open for visits, but it can be seen from the public Befferdreef and is a recognizable landmark in the landscape between Bonheiden and Mechelen.