Kasteel van Oostkerke, Medieval castle in Oostkerke, Belgium.
Kasteel van Oostkerke is a brick castle in the polder landscape south of Oostkerke, Damme. Its 14th-century gatehouse has three round towers with grey conical roofs, and the left wing has a steeply pitched roof of mossy brown and green tiles. A stone bridge with a dark arch crosses the moat at the right.
The first written record dates to 1358, documenting a structure with an upper and lower courtyard surrounded by moats. The complex underwent various modifications throughout subsequent centuries as needs and architectural styles evolved.
The name Oostkerke refers to the village's eastern church, and the castle was the seat of the Lords of Oostkerke, first recorded in 1089 with Dodinus van Oostkerke. The lower courtyard once held a dovecote and an icehouse, features tied to the estate's self-sufficiency. The gardens designed by Mien Ruys in the early 1950s incorporate old canals and wall remnants.
The property remains private and is not open to the public on a regular basis, though organized events do take place throughout the year. Check in advance for scheduled openings or special occasions when the grounds can be visited.
The gardens were designed by Dutch landscape architect Mien Ruys and laid out in the early 1950s, not 1946. She integrated the old canals and wall remnants into the design, and the hull of the Oude Molen was bought and now serves as a lookout tower.
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