Bulskampveld Castle

Bulskampveld Castle in Beernem is a neo-gothic manor house standing at the heart of a sprawling landscape park, today serving as the visitor center for the Houtland region. While the current building is barely more than a century old, the grounds around it carry traces of settlement going back to the Middle Ages, and the estate's name itself turns up in written sources as early as the mid-12th century.

Where does the name Bulskampveld come from?

The domain's name has Germanic roots and roughly translates to "bulls' field." It was first recorded in documents dating to 1149, making the place one of the older named locations in the area. For centuries the stretch of land between Ghent and Bruges was a marshy heath, poorly suited to farming. Only from the 18th century onward did local residents begin systematically cultivating this terrain.

How did a farmhouse turn into a castle?

The first lord of Bulskampveld was Lambert Malfait, who converted his farmhouse into a proper manor around the turn of the 19th century — he died in Beernem in 1803. In 1838 the estate passed into the hands of the de Meeus family, and it was under Count Henri de Meeus that the domain gained the far grander building still standing today. The sober, austere neo-gothic country house was erected between 1892 and 1893, accompanied by a coach house, cattle and horse stables, a walled kitchen garden, and a water tower.

Why was a count drilling for coal under his own castle?

One of the more unusual chapters in Bulskampveld's history involves a hunt for coal. Starting in 1880, Count Henri de Meeus commissioned exploratory drilling across the domain, betting on underground deposits. The work was abandoned in 1898 after diggers hit hard rock at a depth of 350 meters, making further drilling impossible. The ambitious industrial venture came to nothing, and the domain remained a residence and recreational estate rather than a mining site.

What changed under the Lippens family?

In 1904 the estate — spanning land across the municipalities of Beernem, Oostkamp, and Wingene, along with the castle, outbuildings, stables, workers' cottages, and orchards — was bought by the Lippens family for more than a million Belgian francs of the time. Shortly after the purchase, they brought in landscape architect Edmond Galoppin, who designed a picturesque English-style landscape park deliberately contrasting with the strict geometric avenues of the rest of the domain. It is this park that still gives the grounds around the castle their distinctive character today.

How did the castle end up under provincial care?

In 1970 the domain was purchased by the province of West Flanders, and since 1973 it has operated as a provincial recreational estate open to residents and visitors alike. The castle's interior, partly preserved in its neo-gothic style, was adapted to house a visitor center, which has run in its current form since 2006, offering a wide range of activities for groups exploring the Houtland region.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors go inside Bulskampveld Castle? Yes, the building now functions as the visitor center for the provincial domain and is open as part of its programming.

How old is the current castle building? The present neo-gothic structure dates from 1892–1893, though a residence has stood on this site since the early 19th century.

Was coal really sought beneath the castle? Yes, Count Henri de Meeus commissioned exploratory drilling between 1880 and 1898, but the effort only struck hard rock at a depth of 350 meters.

Who designed the park surrounding the castle? The English-style landscape park was designed by architect Edmond Galoppin for the Lippens family after they acquired the estate in 1904.