Royal Stables

The Royal Stables (Koninklijke Stallingen), also known as the Norwegian Stables, are the most surprising building in Ostend. In 1903 King Leopold II asked the Norwegian architect Ivar Knudsen to design stables for the royal horses near the Wellington racecourse, and the result, finished in 1904, looks like it was flown in from a Norwegian fjord: a U-shaped complex of dark timber with steep slate roofs, carved gables in the Norwegian dragon style and a green copper turret, modelled on the country’s medieval stave churches.

The irony is that the stables were never used for horses. From the late 1920s the complex housed a technical school, and since 1959 it has been a municipal sports centre. It has been a protected monument since 1981. Today the wooden halls are home to sports clubs, including a basketball club, combat sports, dance and Belgium’s oldest chess club.

The buildings are being restored in phases: the north wing and the caretaker’s house have been renovated, and work on the east wing started in March 2026 and will take more than a year. Because the complex is used by clubs, it is best seen from the street: the gatehouse with its two carved gables on the corner is the view to come for. It is a short walk from the Royal Galleries and the racecourse.