That year it purchased by Gerard Sterck, who put up picturesque buildings with a castle, towers and turrets, and called it Sterckshof, a name it retains today.

[3] Unlike other castles in Antwerp, the Sterckshof was not destroyed during the wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, but it was neglected during a dispute between the heirs after the owner, Jacob van Lemens, died childless in 1664.

From 1693 Sterckshof was owned by the Jesuits of Lier, but the castle was damaged or allowed to deteriorate during the war of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748).

[6] In 1921 the Province of Antwerp bought the Ter Rivieren estate, with the Sterckshof castle, to make it into the current Rivierenhof park.

[3] The reconstructed building with its red brick turrets and courtyards is set in formal gardens surrounded by a moat, conveying an impression of the houses of the wealthy in the 16th century.

Joseph De Beer, the honorary curator, moved into the house and began acquiring what became a huge and disparate collection of archaeological, natural history, ethnology and art and crafts objects.

When De Beer died in February 1953 the original association was liquidated and the castle was taken over by the Province of Antwerp.