Kasteel van Hamme

Kasteel van Hamme in Hamme, East Flanders, was built in 1731 by Frans-Joseph Hyacinth l'Escornet as an elegant country estate. The castle features a 19th-century landscape-style garden with dramatic relief variations, winding paths adorned with green screens, a serpentine pond bordered by impressive slopes and bridges, and decorative monumental white terracotta statues depicting muses and mythological figures positioned on sandstone bases. One statue bears the mark of Villeroy & Boch, the renowned porcelain factory established in 1879. The castle's heraldic lion displays the coat of arms of the De Vos family, lords of Hamme in the second half of the 18th century and kinsmen of the l'Escornet line, reflecting the noble heritage preserved in this protected heritage site.