Commanderij van Gruitrode, Medieval commandry and château in Oudsbergen, Belgium

The Commanderij van Gruitrode is a brick complex in Maasland Renaissance style, built between 1485 and 1568. A round corner tower with stone quoins and a conical dark roof rises between two wings; the left wing has a hipped roof with three dormers, and a stone porch with a round-arched doorway stands at ground level. A moat fed by the Itterbeek separates the castle from a square farmstead.

The site began as the Roeterhof castle, whose remains lie beneath the inner courtyard. In 1416 the land commander of Alden Biesen, Ivan van Cortenbach, bought the domain; the buildings were destroyed in 1485 during a feud between the Marck and Arenberg families. The present Maasland Renaissance complex was built between 1485 and 1568, when the Eighty Years' War began. The Teutonic Order held it until Napoleon dissolved the religious houses in 1801.

The place served as a regional hub where coins were minted and goods were traded, shaping the local economy and connecting distant settlements. This function gave the community a role that extended beyond its religious-military purpose.

Guided tours lead visitors through the preserved interior spaces and explain how the commandery operated as a religious-military station. The site spans two islands accessed by bridges and passages, so plan for walking across water crossings.

The castle and the square farmyard stand on separate islands divided by a moat fed by the Itterbeek. Remains of the earlier Roeterhof castle lie buried beneath the inner courtyard of the present building, so the visible complex rests on older foundations.