Waterkasteel van Schoonbeek, Water castle in Schoonbeek, Bilzen, Belgium

Waterkasteel van Schoonbeek is a U-shaped brick castle in Schoonbeek, part of Bilzen. Its central block has a projecting tower with a steep hipped slate roof and small spire, flanked by lower wings; a short square tower stands at the right corner. A long single-storey outbuilding links to a taller wing, and the wings enclose an irregular paved courtyard. Beside the castle a pond flows into a moat crossed by a drawbridge leading to the entrance gate.

The oldest core of the castle dates from the Middle Ages: in 1333 it belonged to the County of Loon. Herman Typots, drossard of the Land of Grevenbroek, married Margriet van Chiney, daughter of the lord of Schoonbeek, and in 1573 their grandson Hendrik Typots was still lord of the castle. The Preston family from Ireland bought it in 1780; the de Renesse family succeeded them, and Count Frédéric de Renesse died unmarried in the castle in 1990. In 1991 it passed to Count Thierry de Hemricourt de Grunne.

The castle's name comes from the hamlet of Schoonbeek in Beverst, part of Bilzen since the 1977 merger. The Irish Preston family bought it in 1780; the de Renesse family followed, and Count Theodore de Renesse served as mayor of Beverst and governor of Limburg. Count Frédéric de Renesse died unmarried in the castle on 18 November 1990.

The castle is not open to the public; the brick wings, moat and drawbridge are seen from the outside. The pond beside the castle drains into the moat crossed by the drawbridge to the entrance gate, so the outer grounds and the view over the water are what a visitor can walk to.

The castle passed from the Preston family, who bought it in 1780, to the de Renesse family. Count Frédéric de Renesse, born in Brussels on 3 January 1904, died unmarried in the castle on 18 November 1990; in 1991 it became the property of Count Thierry de Hemricourt de Grunne.