| Added by |
 Bart Perdieus
|
| General Description : | Locals call it: "Oud Kasteel" (Old Castle) ( 51°05′02″N 4°55′02″E). The castle has been the home of the House of Merode since more than five centuries. The central keep or Donjon was built in local brown stone in the 14th-century. It probably replaced an older fortress on the same spot. Other parts of the building date from the 16th century. The castle was adapted, extended and restorated several times. From the 16th century onwards it was transformed into a more luxurious noble dwelling and gradually lost its fortified character. Severall restorations in the 19th century gave it back a more 'romantic' medieval appearance. The sumptuous interiors contain fine furniture, paintings, tapestries, and objects collected by the Merode family throughout the centuries. The most important rooms like the entrance hall, the "ridderzaal" (knights hall), the large drawing room, the dining room and the chapel can be visited during the 'Kasteelfeesten' in the first weekend of July. An English landscape park of 12 hectares surrounds the castle. The ponds in the park are connected with the moat of the castle. Across the Nete river there is a larger formal park (60 hectares) in the French tradition with a rectangular pond forming a large perspective. It was commissioned by Fieldmarshall Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Mérode-Westerloo at the beginning of the 18th century and was inspired by Versailles. |
| Face value | 13 + 3 Francs |
| Catalog code (Michel) | BE 2318 |
| Catalog code | Stamp Number BE B1064 Yvert et Tellier BE 2266 Stanley Gibbons BE 2929 AFA number BE 2325 Belgium BE 2266 Unificato BE 2266 |
| Series | Solidarity |
| Place in series | 2 |
| Stamp colour | multicolour |
| Stamp use | Semi Postal stamp |
| Print run | 504.491 |
| Issue date | 17/10/1987 |
| Print technique | Photogravure and Recess |
| Perforation | 11 1/2 |
| Height | 28.00 mm |
| Width | 48.00 mm |
| Catalog prices | No catalog prices set yet |
