Kasteel Wijnegemhof, situated in a wooded park along the Grote Schijn, originated as an estate mentioned in 1407 before Spanish-style renovation around 1530 by Jan Vleminck the Elder. The water castle was demolished in 1956, but its distinctive Jan Vlemincktoren tower—originally functioning as a dovecote—remains as a vestige of the 16th-century structure. The domain was notably owned by Count Jacques Coghen, Belgium's first Minister of Finance and an ancestor of Queen Paola, and later by the counts and princes de Merode through the 19th century.
