The current castle was built in the 16th or 17th century in the
Flemish Renaissance style. In 1656, after passing through several owners, the castle and its estate became the property of the Spanish nobleman Don Garcia Osorio y Borgia. Between 1900 and 1914, the estate was gradually repurposed for recreational and sporting activities.
Hot air balloon launches were hosted there, and a wooden
velodrome was established in 1908. The castle also accommodated a
dairy and
tavern. In 1912, Karreveld became one of the sites associated with the early development of
Belgian cinema. At the request of
Charles Pathé (
Pathé Cinémas), the French director
Alfred Machin established the country's first
film studio there. Stretching across a meadow from the / to the Karreveld velodrome, this studio consisted of glazed sheds with offices, dressing rooms, workshops for set construction, as well as a small
menagerie of exotic animals, such as bears, camels and two panthers, for use as 'extras' in films. Some twenty early Belgian feature films, including '
, ' and
Maudite soit la guerre (in hand-painted colours), were shot and produced there. In 1930, the municipality of Molenbeek purchased the estate from the House de Villegas. Part of the land was redeveloped for urban projects including the extension of the surrounding boulevards and avenues—/, /, /, etc.—and the construction of villas, while then-mayor , elected in 1939, commissioned studies for the castle's restoration. ==Events==