Male Castle, Protected medieval castle in Male district, Bruges, Belgium

Male Castle is a protected medieval fortress in the Male district near Bruges, surrounded by a square moat that encircles the entire grounds. The complex has a 14th-century tower and several connected wings containing residential rooms and a small chapel.

The site began as a 9th-century motte-and-bailey castle, possibly built under Baldwin I against Viking raids. In the 12th century Philip of Alsace replaced it with a stone fortress, and in 1166 Thomas Becket consecrated its chapel. Ghent troops destroyed it in 1382; after rebuilding, the present keep was erected following a fire in 1473, with its foundations in the moat.

Male takes its name from the castle, and the lords of Male gave their title to the counts' son born here in 1329, Louis of Male. Since 1954 the buildings have housed St. Trudo's Abbey, a community of Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, who added a chapter house, guest house and abbey church by 1965.

The castle stands in the Male district of Sint-Kruis, along the N9 road between Bruges and Ghent, east of Sint-Kruis residential area. The keep's foundations sit directly in the moat, with symmetrical wings flanking it. The buildings now belong to the Deprez family and house no public museum, so the complex is seen from the surrounding grounds and road.

In 1269 Countess Margaret II granted Damme the right to draw drinking water from the Malevijver, the pond west of the castle. The pipe ran beneath a 4,200-metre road, still called the Pijpeweg, and the nearby Kasteel De Vijvers, also known as the Lodewijk van Male hotel, is surrounded by a remnant of that pond.