Kasteel van Ooidonk — Attraction in Deinze

I'm writing this because the owner asked me why I gave only one star. So, here is my experience: We visited Belgium for a couple of days seeing different cities and I picked this place to visit being very exciting, since I'm very in love with castles and especially for their big gardens. Unfortunately we had bad luck with the traffic, really bad luck, we arrived 40 Minutes before the closing. But thinking 3€ per Person is still worth for a beautiful walk, especially after the stressful time we had before. We didn't know about the Festival and the prize of 20€ per Person now, and if we would've arrived earlier it'll probably would've been okay too. But 20€ pP for less than 40 Mins was a bit over the top, so I asked the lady gently if there would be an option for some sort of discount since you were closing soon. I'm always a very kind and calm person I really am, I never demand things or speak to people rudely, so I was very disappointed and shocked about the snapping replies. She insisted on the full prize because we'd still have enough time to see everything (really?..) told me that she "already have convinced enough customers for today" and that we should come back in October. I even couldn't say anything in between.. I'm not one of those people who can afford to travel several times per year just to see one castle/garden. Why do you speak with friendly tourists like that? And what does "I've convinced enough for today" is supposed to mean? So we don't matter? There was only a single car on the parking place at that time, I think it would've been at least worth to think about a discount since logically tourists who visit Gent only for 1 day -which I told her -won't come back the next day and also it's better to take a bit less money than no money at all in the end of the day. Everything would've been better instead of snapping us away with...

One of the most beautiful castles in Belgium, Kasteel van Ooidonk is a visual treat 😍 and a must visit if you're visiting Ghent or Deinze or anyplace in between. Come here to witness expansive, well manicured gardens with flowers and trees, sprinkled with curated sculptures and art pieces. There are sitting benches all around if you want to spend time appreciating the beauty of the environment or just gaze at the duck families going about their day in the mini canals. Yes, you need to pay in order to enter the premises- two types of entry tickets, one for just the garden area- takes you around the castle's periphery and the second gives you inside access too. There is also a restaurant inside the castle. Bonus: some suites/ rooms are also made available by the owners on Airbnb incase you end up falling in love with the place and decide to spend a night...

Ooidonk Castle in Deinze is the residence of Count t'Kint de Roodenbeke. In 1230, Nicolas, chaplain of Hodunc built it to defend Ghent and to fortify the river. The fortress was destroyed in 1491 by the people of Ghent, revolting against Maximilian of Austria.

In 1579, during the wars of religion, the castle was destroyed by the Calvinists of Ghent.

The ruins were later acquired by Martin della Faille, a merchant from Antwerp. He rebuilt the castle in Renaissance and Hispano-Flemish style.

In 1864, the castl was bought by Henri t' Kint de Rodenbeke, President of the Senate and Minister of State.

It is now the property of Count Henry t'Kint de Roodenbeke.

In 1944, the castle was classified a protected landmark and is open to the public from April 1 to...