Het Gelmelslot

The Gelmel Castle has a history that goes back a long way. Around 1814 the Normans invaded Flanders in various places to plunder those areas. Legend has it that Gelmel, one of the chiefs, sailed the river near here. On the spot where the castle now stands, he built a castle tower to provide a lookout and a support point for his troops. In 892 the domination of the Normans came to an end. However, no evidence has ever been found for this legend. In the sixteenth century the castle was converted into a castle. Among others Maria of Bourgondi? and Charles V were guests there. At the end of the eighteenth century, the castle was destroyed by French troops. Just before that, the castle had been in the hands of the French revolutionaries. They used the castle as a gendarmerie barracks. The remaining buildings after the destruction provided shelter for vagrants and the homeless. Today, a penitentiary school center is located in the castle.