Castle of Karreveld

Le' Karreveld' is the name allotted to an old field of 3 hectares and to a firm-castle with Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, a commune of the North-West of Brussels. Karreveld also determines the name of a district of this commune. This space is also a communal public park.

History

A legend was spread that Charles Quint, going to Brussels would have made a passage there. The name of Karreveld, in Dutch Karel Veld or “field of Charles” would thus find his origin because of a passage of the emperor Charles Quint at this place. This folk account is contradicted by the dating of instruments which mention the name of “Karreveld well” before the birth of Charles Quint.

More probably, the name Karreveld draws its origin with “Karreelvelt” or field from brick clay have regard that several Briqueterie S was still in activity around the field at the beginning of the 20th century.

The name of Carnevelt appears already in a document, gone back to 1253, following the deed of gift made by the Duc of the Brabant, Jean Ier the Victorious one with his wife Marguerite, girl of Saint Louis, King de France. The widow of Jerome Van Ghindertaelen sells the good to a Spanish lord Don Garcia Osario there Borgia, in 1656. The family of Villegas acquires the good, in 1780, to sell it with the commune in 1930.

A Vélodrome is inaugurated at the time when that of the Bois of Cambers closed its doors. A Laiterie accommodates the visitors.

Another activity, artistic that one begins practically at the same time as the organization from the cycle races: Charles Pathé entrusts to Alfred Machin, the mission of exploiting the first film studio in Belgium. It is in 1912, with the chaussee of Ghent, in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, whom birth takes the Belgian Cinéma. Several films of quality whose two preserved Belgian feature-length films the Girl of Delft but also premonitory the Maudite is the war are made in the environment of the studios of Karreveld.Alfred Machin orders the execution in this place of a glazed studio, workshops, an infrastructure for the artists as well as a zoological mini-garden who accommodate exotic animals such as bears, camels and panthers.

The commune became owner of the field since 1930. The communal authorities molenbeekoise celebrate there the marriages, the barn of the castle is intended for the cultural events of prestige, even more popular the such Marché of Christmas. The town council is also organized there.

The field is since 2004 recognized like monument and site by the Government of Brussels-Capital.

Sources

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