This extensive complex was established in the mid-1920s as the neuropsychiatric clinic Salve Mater. It consists of various pavilions in a neo-traditional style, scattered throughout the northern part of the original castle park. The pavilions are separated by straight avenues. This pattern is a remnant of the 19th-century layout surrounding 'Kasteel de Spoelberch'.
After Karel de Spoelberch died without descendants in 1907, the castle and park came into the possession of the University of Leuven in 1915. The university leased it to the Sisters of Charity to establish a 'lunatic asylum' there. The clinic was part of the University Psychiatric Centre of Leuven. From the late 1990s onwards, all departments were distributed among other hospitals. The last pavilion was vacated in 2007. The pavilions usually feature a roughly H-shaped floor plan. They are functional brick structures of two to three storeys under predominantly tiled gable and hipped roofs.
The complex is currently undergoing extensive renovation and being transformed into a site for living and working. Several pavilions have already been completed and are occupied. This pavilion, Sint-Cecile, is the last building that remains in a beautiful state of decay.
At the time of this visit, the main building with the chapel was still occupied by a 'caretaker'. Those parts were therefore inaccessible at that moment. When those buildings were later vacated as well, a second visit became necessary.
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