Arenberg Castle

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Arenberg Castle

Arenberg Castle, situated in Heverlee close to Leuven in Belgium, is a 16th century castle built by Antoon van Croy on the site of a 12th century castle, of which he destroyed all but one tower. Construction of the modern castle was completed in 1515.

The castle, which is surrounded by the Arenberg park, is now the property of the Catholic University of Leuven and is open to the public. The park surrounding the castle is one of the main campuses of the University, providing facilities for most of the exact sciences. The castle itself is the seat of the Faculty of Engineering.

The first manned gas-filled balloon flight in history took off from the front lawn of the castle; the balloonist was professor Jan Pieter Minckeleers.^{[citation needed]}