castle of Voort

Castle de Tornaco is a former noble estate in Voort, a village now part of the municipality of Tongeren-Borgloon in the Belgian province of Limburg. The estate stood along the Romeinse Kassei, an old Roman road that shaped settlement patterns across this stretch of the Haspengouw region. Although the main residential building no longer stands, the site carries centuries of history tied to the local nobility.

Where does the name come from?

The site originally held the castle of the lords of Voort, the local noble family from which the village itself took its name. The name Tornaco only entered the picture in the 19th century, when the estate passed to that family — and it is this later name that stuck.

How did the building change over the centuries?

The castle was rebuilt and altered several times before reaching the form best documented in historical records: a U-shaped building in the classicist style, dating to the third quarter of the 18th century. This layout mirrored the tastes of the era's Low Countries nobility, who favored symmetrical, representative residences.

Who owned the castle?

Ownership passed through many hands over the centuries, following marriages and inheritances among the lords of Voort. Recorded owning families include de Voerde (14th century), van Malborch (from 1510), de Cockin alias van Voort (from 1565), de Sottelet (from 1733), followed by Marguerithe Lefebvre (from 1760), de Thiribu (from 1762), and de Schoonhoven d'Aerschot (from 1778). In 1868 the estate was purchased from Count Guillaume d'Aerschot by Victor de Tornaco de Beghein, whose family name the castle still bears. In 1960 Raymond de Tornaco passed the estate to his daughter, viscountess Philippe de Hardy de Beaulieu.

What happened to the castle during World War II?

The building's fate was sealed by a wartime tragedy. In November 1943 an aircraft crashed onto the castle grounds, destroying the main building beyond repair. It was never rebuilt. The estate's service buildings and farm structures, however, survived and remain standing today, offering a glimpse of the property's former scale.

What can visitors see today?

Although the residential building itself is gone, the grounds of the former estate, together with its surviving farm buildings, now serve as accommodation and a starting point for cycling and walking routes through the Haspengouw countryside. The site remains a tangible link to the history of local nobility and residential architecture in Limburg, even without its once-central palace building.

Frequently asked questions

Can the castle in Voort be visited today? The original palace building no longer exists — it was destroyed after a plane crash in 1943 and was never rebuilt. The estate's former farm buildings, however, have survived.

Where does the name Castle de Tornaco come from? From the de Tornaco family, who acquired the estate in 1868. Before that, the property was named after successive owners, starting with the lords of Voort.

Where exactly was the castle located? Along the Romeinse Kassei road in Voort, now part of the municipality of Tongeren-Borgloon in Limburg province.