Ooidonk Castle ( nl, Kasteel Ooidonk) is a castle in the city of

Deinze Deinze () is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It comprises the city of Deinze, and the towns of Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, Grammene, Hansbeke, Landegem, Meigem, Merendree, Nevele, Petegem-aan-de-Leie, ...

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The castle is the residence of the current Count t'Kint de Roodenbeke. Ooidonk Castle is situated at a
altitude of 11
meters.

History

Ooidonk is already mentioned in 1230 : "Nicolas, chaplain of Hodunc". A fortress was first built on the site of the current castle, intended to defend the city of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

and to fortify the river

Leie The Lys () or Leie () is a river in France and Belgium, and a left-bank tributary of the Scheldt. Its source is in Pas-de-Calais, France, and it flows into the river Scheldt in Ghent, Belgium. Its total length is . Historically a very pollut ...

. This fortress was owned by Jean de Fosseux, lord of Nevele. The castle was destroyed for the first time in 1491 by the people of Ghent in revolt against Maximilian of Austria. In 1568, Philippe II de Montmorency-Nivelle, Count of Hornes, Lord of Nevele and owner of the estate was beheaded, along with the

Count of Egmont Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (18 November 1522 – 5 June 1568) was a general and statesman in the Spanish Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventuall ...

, by the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes ( es, Duque de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by ...

in Brussels. In 1579, during the

wars of religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, the castle, defenseless, was destroyed by the Ghent Calvinists. The ruins and lands were later acquired by Martin della Faille, a notable merchant from Antwerp. He rebuilt the castle in a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

style and transformed it into a place of residence in Hispano-Flemish style. In 1864, the castle and lands were acquired by Henri t' Kint de Rodenbeke who went on to become President of the Senate and

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

. He restored and transformed the castle. It is now the private property of Count Henry t'Kint de Roodenbeke, son of the late Count Juan t'Kint de Roodenbeke. In 1944, the castle was classified as a protected landmark. In 1980, other constructions around it were also classified, and in 1995, so was the rest of the estate. Ooidonk Castle is open to the public from April 1 to September 15, and the park (with its French garden) can be visited year round.

External links

Ooidonk Castle official website
{{Belgium-castle-stub Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century Castles in Belgium Castles in East Flanders Museums in East Flanders Historic house museums in Belgium Deinze

History

See also

External links