In the 9th century a wooden tower surrounded by a moat was erected to protect the region against the Vikings. In the 12th century a stone castle was build by Count Philip van den Elzas and it became the residence of the counts of Flanders. It stayed a center of government until the 15 th century . In 1515 the castle saw the last imperial inauguration of Charles V . On march the 6th in 1558 Philip II sold the castle to his governor of the nederlands : knight Juan Lopez Gallo. Male became a private property and its role in political activities ended .The Gallo family left Male in 1710 and Baron Claesman the new owner transformed the fortress into a castle in french style with lanes and fountains .After the french revolution the castle was in very bad shape until it was renovated in 1840. Unfortunately Male was requisitioned during both world wars by the germans and was left in ruinous condition. In 1952 Baron Guido Gilles de Pelichy placed the castle at the disposal of the abbey St.Trudo, who joined the order of the Holy Sepulchre and moved into the castle in 1954. Thus a 20 years period of restorations started and ended with a remarkable result. The castel had become a magnificent abbey.

The origin of the St-Trudo abbey coincides with the existence of the Eeckhout Abbey . However in 1149 the female members of the abbey left the city and found refuge at Odegem ( Steenbrugge) near the St-Trudo Chapel. In 1248 St Trudo became an independant abbey and Usilia the prioress became the first abess . Until 1560 the abbey did very well and was quite prosperous. The revolt of the Geuse made an end to the abbey at Odegem and the sisters had to move to the 'nieuwe gentweg' in Bruges. After world war II the sisters joined the order of the canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre and thanks to the efforts of Dom Filips De Cloedt and E.H Michiel English the sisters soon found refuge in the Male Castle .In 1954 they moved into the buildings and started a long period of restauration and renovation.