Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

WESTERN FLANDERS 137

Kasteel Ooidonk i

Ooidonkdreef 9, Deinze; 24 km (15
miles) SW of Ghent. Road Map B2.
Tel (09) 2823570. # Apr–mid-Sep:
2–5:30pm Sun and public holidays;
Jul–Aug: 2–5pm Sat, Sun and public
holidays. & 0 http://www.ooidonk.be.
Gardens # 9am–4pm Tue–Sun.

The impressive castle of
Ooidonk sits on a meandering
loop of the River Leie, sur-
round ed by Gardens, wood-
land and a moat. It occupies
the site of a 13th-century
fortress that was wrecked in
1491 by the citizens of Ghent
in a revolt against Habsburg
ruler Maximilian I. It was
then the home of Philip
de Montmorency, Count of
Hornes, until 1568, when he
was exe cuted for oppos ing the
introduction of the Spanish
Inquisition. His castle was des-
troyed by Protestants in 1579.
The corner towers are all that
remain of this earlier fortress.
The rest was rebuilt after 1595
in a mixture of Renaissance
and Hispano-Flemish styles,
with step-gabled façades and
bulb-shaped crests on the
towers. The interior was
refur bished sensitively in the
19th century to sumptuous
standards and has a fitting
collection of antique furniture,
tapestries, paintings, objets
d’art and the kind of detail
which is seen in a castle that
is still lived in by its owners.

Corner tower with bulbous spire overlooking the moat at Kasteel Ooidonk

Kasteel Laarne o

Eethoekstraat 5, Laarne; 19 km

(12 miles) SE of Ghent. Road

Map B2. Tel (09) 2309155. & 8

mandatory; Easter–Sep: 3pm Sun;

Jul–Aug: 3pm Thu and Sun. 0

http://www.historische-woonsteden.be

A remarkable castle, Laarne is

surrounded by a broad moat

and accessed by a long bridge.

The castle is artistically set at

an angle both to the moat

and to the large square fore-

court, with corner buildings,

that leads up to it. Originally

a pentagonal fortress dating

from the 12th to 14th centu-

ries, with unusual spires on

the towers, it was used by the

counts of Flanders, and was

the target of repeated sieges.

Old-fashioned diesel train at Stoomcentrum Maldegem

Stoomcentrum

Maldegem p

Stationsplein 8, Maldegem; 32 km

(20 miles) from Ghent. Road

Map B1. Tel (050) 716852. @

# early May–Sep: 10am–5:30pm

Sun; Jul–Aug: noon–5pm Wed and

Fri, 10am–5:30pm Sun. - _ Steam

Festival (1st weekend of May).

http://www.stoomcentrum.be

The Stoomcentrum (Steam

Centre) in Maldegem is the

largest collection of steam

engines in Flanders. It has

agricultural and industrial

machines, fire-engines, steam-

rollers and steam locomotives.

The museum is operated by

enthusiasts, and visitors can

see them working on machines

currently under restoration.

Steam and diesel trains take

visitors for rides on a track to

Eeklo 10 km (6 miles) away,

and a diesel train runs on a

narrow-gauge line to Donk,

about 1.5 km (1 mile) away.

Laarne was remodelled and

enlarged in the 17th century

to make it a more habitable

château. Since 1953, it has

been in the hands of the

Royal Association of Historic

Residences and Gardens. The

interior, which can be visited

only by a guided tour, holds

17th-century furniture, an

exceptional collection of 15th-

to 18th-century silver and

16th-century Brussels tapes-

tries depicting domestic and

hunting scenes. There is also

a well-respected restaurant

that occupies the outbuildings.