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Kessel, Belgium

Antwerp geography stubsNijlenPages including recorded pronunciationsPopulated places in Antwerp Province
Kessel Maison des Bains, café taverne 02
Kessel Maison des Bains, café taverne 02

Kessel (pronunciation ) is a town in the municipality of Nijlen in the province of Antwerp in Belgium. In 2006, the population was 7,207 inhabitants. Kessel is known for its tourist attractions, such as "de Kesselse Heide" (a nature reserve) and "Fort Kessel" (a fortress built for World War I). Kessel lies between two rivers: the Kleine Nete in the north and the Grote Nete in the south. It borders with Emblem, Nijlen, Bevel, Berlaar and Lier. Although Kessel is a fairly small town, it has 2 separate town centres, Kessel-Dorp, which is built up around the town square, and Kessel-station, which is built up around the train station. The name Kessel comes from the Latin word Castellum (fortress), indicating that Kessel might have been the location for an old Roman camp. In 1912, another Fortress was built, in order to withstand a German invasion. During World War I, German artillery fire from Berlaar made the fort useless, though it still stands until this day and was given the status of Protected Monument by the Belgian government.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kessel, Belgium (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Kessel, Belgium
Gasthuisstraat,

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Wikipedia: Kessel, BelgiumContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.1387 ° E 4.62876 °
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Address

Gasthuisstraat 2
2560
Antwerp, Belgium
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Kessel Maison des Bains, café taverne 02
Kessel Maison des Bains, café taverne 02
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Nearby Places

Rameyen Castle

Rameyen Castle (Dutch: Hof van Rameyen) is a castle on a lake in Gestel, part of the municipality of Berlaar, in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. It was once owned by Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen, who died in the castle. Nicolaas was the second son of Peter Paul Rubens. The first known owner of Rameyen castle in Gestel was Jan II Berthout van Berlaer who lived in the castle in 1303. The oldest part of the castle is the square keep. This heavy tower dates to the 13th century. The keep was fitted with cannon holes in the 16th century. A beautiful castle was built around the keep by Van Immerseele and de Cock families. Boudewijn de Cock sold the castle in 1643 to Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen, the second son of the famous painter Pieter Paul Rubens. The castle stayed as a property of the Rubens family until 1759. During the 17th century the castle underwent major restorations and remodelling but at the end of the same century the castle stood empty and decay started. The restoration took place in the 19th century when Esquire Nicolaas Joseph Alphonse de Cock came in possession of the castle. The Esquire lived in the castle until 1888. Other restorations took place in 1906. During WWI the castle was damaged but the restorations were already finished before the war ended. The last restorations took place in 1960. Joseph and Claartje de Gruyter bought the 700-year-old castle in 1995. “It was love at first sight,” Mrs. de Gruyter recalled of the castle, situated near Antwerp in northern Belgium. But the moated chateau, while livable, desperately needed modernizing. So shortly after moving in, the couple sought help from Rutger Steenmeijer, of R. Steenmeijer & H. Baksteen architects, and Axel Vervoordt. For the first three years, the de Gruyters set up house in the main part of the castle to familiarize themselves with the space while the renovation team worked on the outlying buildings, which included private stables, a coach house and caretaker's cottage. They then moved into the coach house while Mr. Steenmeijer and Mr. Vervoordt turned to the main dwelling. The renovation took over 6 years with a budget over 12 M. Euro In November 2015, Family de Gruyter sold the property to NV Hof Van Rameyen a Belgian investment company.