Kasteel van Bokrijk, Neo-Renaissance castle in Genk, Belgium.
Kasteel van Bokrijk is a red-brick castle complex on Bokrijklaan in Genk, built from 1891 in Maasland neo-Renaissance style. A round turret with a tall conical grey roof and spire stands at the left; the central section has rows of white-framed rectangular windows, a steep dark roof and small dormers, while the taller right wing has a grid of windows and a projecting hipped roof topped by a small lantern. A lawn fills the foreground.
Edgar Maris bought the Bokrijk estate in 1889 and had the castle built from 1891 in Maasland neo-Renaissance style to a design by architect Jacobus Van Mansfeld. Financial trouble forced him to sell after three years to Count Ferdinand de Meeûs, who saw the work through to completion in 1898, adding a right wing, a neo-Byzantine chapel and a French garden.
The castle stands on the Bokrijk estate, bought in 1889 by Edgar Maris from the Coghen family and sold in 1937 by the Middenkredietkas to the province of Limburg, which created the Provinciaal Domein Bokrijk. A neo-Byzantine chapel and a French garden were added beside the right wing after 1898.
The castle stands at Bokrijklaan 8, on the Bokrijk estate, reached by road through the provincial domain. Since the 2008 renovation it serves as a meeting venue for the Province of Limburg and for companies, so the interior is generally seen by appointment or during booked events rather than on a casual visit.
The property once hosted one of the era's largest poultry farm operations, maintaining thousands of chickens on the grounds. This intensive farming activity, combined with agricultural experiments, shaped the character of the estate during the early 20th century.
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