Kasteel van Heetvelde, Water castle in Oetingen, Belgium

Kasteel van Heetvelde is a brick water castle in Oetingen, part of Pajottegem. Its main wing consists of a tall square keep with a steep pyramidal roof and a slender stair turret with a clock face, a two-storey range of seven bays ending in a round corner tower with a conical roof, and a lower square chapel to the west. The walls rise directly from the moat.

The castle was built at a strategic location marking the boundaries between three medieval territories: the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Hainaut, and the County of Flanders. This position made it a key defensive point in a contested region.

The castle is known locally as Het Waterkasteeltje, or the little water castle, and also as the Castle of Oetingen. It was the seat of the lords of Heetvelde, and the surrounding grounds are protected as a cultural-historical landscape. The castle is private property and cannot be visited.

The structure sits on private property and cannot be entered, but it can be viewed from outside. The best views are from the approach to the bridge, where the castle's architecture and moat are clearly visible.

The walls still have shooting holes from when the castle served as a fortress. These openings reveal how seriously medieval defense was taken and show the practical military design of the period.