A Visit to Kasteel Van Loppem near Bruges, Belgium

Belgium may not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of castles, yet this European country has around 3,000 of them, one of the highest densities of castles per square kilometre in the world. So it only made sense that when Henk and I were visiting Bruges, we decided to look for some castles to explore nearby as well. What we found was Kasteel Van Loppem, a beautiful example of a 19th-century castle less than 10 kilometres from the city centre. Boasting all the pointy turrets, nooks and crannies you would expect to find in a neo-Gothic structure, it seems to have been lifted right from the pages of a fairy tale. Yet for all it’s beauty, Kasteel Van Loppem remains a hidden gem that most visitors to Bruges know nothing about – but those that do visit are sure to be as impressed as we were.

History of Kasteel Van Loppem

Kasteel Van Loppem has been in the Caloen family since the 18th century, but has seen a number of changes over the generations. The neo-Gothic building that stands on the estate today was built in the mid 1800s to replace an older original manor house of a different, Neo-Classical architectural style. The architect chosen by the family to rebuild the castle was Jean Bethune, the founding father of Neo-Gothic architecture in Flanders. The grandeur of the castle reflects the family’s status, since many of its members were Belgian nobility or served as senior politicians both in the town of Loppem and Bruges.

Marie van Ockerhout was the last family member to live full-time in the castle, and during her lifetime, the castle even hosted the King and Queen of Belgium and King George V of England, all of whom made this estate their base when they visited the region after the end of World War I.

After Marie died, her son Jean van Caloen established a foundation to manage the Castle, its property and extensive art collection, and in the mid 1970s, Kasteel van Loppem was opened to the public. After seeing both the property and the interior of the Castle, Henk and I could understand why this place has since been granted protected monument status – the entire Kasteel is basically an historical artifact, inside and out.

What to See Inside Kasteel Van Loppem

One of the best things about Kasteel Van Loppem is that even though the castle was occupied by its owners for generations until 1940, the interior has remained entirely intact with the original neo-Gothic architectural features and furnishings. Meaning no bad renovations, no open-concept restructuring, no modernizing for the sake of modernizing. Entering this structure is like stepping back in time, and the untouched craftsmanship that is on display is remarkable, especially the architectural details that can be found everywhere you look.

Signature Drawing Rooms

There are several rooms that are open for viewing on the main floor of Kasteel Van Loppem, including the kitchen and dining room, but for us, two of the showstopper spaces were the red and blue drawing rooms. The red one named after ‘Blessed Charles the Good’, is actually the first room that visitors see after entering the castle from its side entrance, and it makes an excellent first impression that just screams ‘castle’. The name of the room refers to the scene on the elaborately-carved chimney breast that shows Charles I, Count of Flanders, distributing bread to the poor. Combined with the tassled, upholstered furnishings, huge chandelier and original stained glass windows, visitors get an immediate sense of what living large in the 19th century (with a side of medieval) would have looked like.

The adjacent blue drawing room of Saint Charles Borromeo was even more impressive and my personal favourite of all the rooms in the castle. Named after Saint Borromeo, the patron saint of one of the family members, this room’s fireplace depicts scenes from the saint’s life in elaborately carved relief. But it was the vibrant murals, the stained glass windows and wooden panelling in this room that made it my favourite.

The murals show scenes from medieval Flanders and the Crusades (a neo-Gothic favourite subject) and although they were created in 1869-70, they are as vibrant as if they had been painted yesterday.

The Main Entrance Hall

The main Entrance Hall is where guests to the castle back in the day would have been welcomed, and it was definitely designed to impress. Once through the main doors and foyer, guests would enter this room that soars to a height of 17 metres, with an impressive staircase, mezzanine and ceiling that faithfully replicates the 15th-century one in the courtroom in Bruges’ City Hall.

The workmanship is on display everywhere in the room (including in the pool table), but the most impressive example is the mezzanine railing and staircase which boast 100 individually-carved wood panels that form the balustrade, each one with a unique design.

Around the room are some of the Castle’s impressive collection of paintings and sculptures, many of which are based on religious subject matter. There are also a few unusual pieces that seemed to be more secular, like this painting that displays an old Dutch saying that loosely translates to “if you are too generous with your money, you’ll have people crawling up your ass“.

(Not sure which of the Caloen family members decided to add this artwork to the collection, but it was probably someone with a sense of humour.)

Upstairs in Kasteel Van Loppem

The floor above the main Entrance Hall is where much of the art collections are on display. Jean van Caloen and his son Roland were big art lovers and world travellers, and have acquired an extensive collection of medieval European, Asian and African art. The Castle’s rooms serve as galleries for these art objects, including one devoted to enlargements of photographs taken by Roland on his travels.

The second floor is also where the family Chapel is, and where many descendants have gotten married even in recent years. Today there are more than 500 members of the extended family living all around the world, and every three years they hold a reunion at the Kasteel. Talk about the ultimate party venue.

What to See Outside Kasteel Van Loppem

Even if you don’t go inside the Kasteel, the 20-acre property and its gardens are open to the public to enjoy for free and provide a beautiful green space with 1.5 km (almost a mile) of walking paths. The trail runs all through the property, alongside pastures where cows are grazing, under mature trees that form a shady canopy, and around a pretty pond where there are benches perfect for sitting and admiring the castle and its reflection in the water.

Even the tidy outbuildings, which consist of a coach house and stables, have some fanciful features – like the carefully pruned pear trees that have been trained to grow vertically on the south wall surrounding the stables. Picture-perfect.

The Maze

What’s a castle without a maze! This green labyrinth is one of Kasteel Van Loppem’s signature features, and it is believed to have been the brainchild of brothers Albert and Ernest van Caloen who drafted its design in 1873 when they were teenagers. Although the maze wasn’t open on the day Henk and I visited, it is a favourite attraction for visitors and those who successfully navigate its pathways will find a tree growing at its centre. (We had to settle for a photograph, stretching as tall as we possibly could reach to get the image. But at least we didn’t get lost.)

Once Upon a Time at Kasteel Von Loppem

With its Neo-Gothic architectural details and perfectly preserved interior, Kasteel Von Loppem delivers all the fairy-tale elegance and beauty that you would expect in a storybook castle, with an idyllic garden-like setting to boot. Walking through the rooms, it’s easy to imagine how, once upon a time, this castle played host to nobles, politicians, and even royal families from two different countries.

For castle-lovers who happen to be visiting Bruges, Kasteel Von Loppem might be the kind of hidden gem you didn’t even know you were looking for, but will be very glad you found.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR VISITING KASTEEL VAN LOPPEM

Getting There: If you don’t have your own rental car, you can always take a taxi, or take public transit from Bruges to the Castle. (Take bus 70a, 70b or 703 from Stationsplein in Bruges and get off at bus stop Loppem Sportcentrum (Steenbrugsestraat). From there, it is a walk of about eight minutes to the castle. The bus service runs several times per hour. Google Maps can provide up-to-date information on transit schedules.)

Admission: Visiting the grounds of the Kasteel Van Loppem is free, except for the Maze, which charges a nominal fee (2 Euros). Tickets for the self-guided tour of the Castle cost 9 Euros for adults and can be booked online through the Kasteel website or purchased on-site.

Bathrooms: The Kasteel maintains public washrooms in one of their outbuildings so whether you are a visitor to the castle or just walking the grounds, you are free to use these facilities.