At the end of the 19th century, a wealthy industrialist built a country house on a wooded spring area. Twenty years later, the distinctive design was romanticized and transformed into a Neo-Flemish Renaissance style, complete with towers and oriels. In 1970, the park and castle of Breivelde became the property of the city of Zottegem and have since served as a public space.
The English landscape-style park features thirteen cascading ponds spread across upper and lower basins, with a large central reflecting pond and an island. At the top of this reflecting pond stands the castle, which has functioned as a hospitality venue over the past decades.
The vision for the restoration of the protected castle is to reconstruct the original Neo-Flemish Renaissance design. The asbestos slate and copper tower cladding will be replaced with natural slate, the dormer windows and the wooden lantern on the oriel will be reconstructed, and the exterior joinery will be carefully restored and repainted in its original color. The later-added roller shutter boxes will be removed. The pierre-simili façade finish has been extensively studied and documented in collaboration with Feniks.
Structural issues, such as the crumbling shoulders and the base of the oriel caused by internal corrosion of wrought iron, are being repaired. Finally, the façades will be restored with repointed joints and color-matched brickwork. Managing the restaurant’s continued operation during the restoration poses a logistical challenge. The works are expected to be completed by the summer of 2024.
