Liedts Castle

After the demolition of the city fortifications, part of the vacant land (Eindries) was sold to the prominent Liedts family.
Charles Liedts, an important Belgian lawyer and statesman, had a country house built around 1860. After successful diplomatic negotiations with France, he became a baron and chose "All for Duty" as his motto. This family slogan still adorns the cartouches of the current castle.

Charles' son, Amedée Liedts, renovated the original building and had his initials engraved in the window frames. The childless Amedée donated the "Liedts Castle" with the library, art collections and garden to the city in 1907 on the condition that the boundaries of the "Park Liedts" would never change and that the allotments would also remain. The donated works of art form an important part of the Municipal Collection of the town hall.
oudenaarde.be/nl/toerisme/discover/stadsdelen/liedtspark

Liedts CastleAfter the former city walls of Oudenaarde were demolished, part of this vacant land was sold to the prominent Liedts family.
Charles Liedts, one of the founders of Belgium, Minister of Finance in the mid-1800s and one of the founders of the National Bank of Belgium, had a country house built there around 1860.
Originally it was a white plastered castle, which was rebuilt in 1883 by his son, Amedée Liedts, in an eclectic style. The park, in English landscape style, was largely laid out between 1865 and 1869.
The childless Amedée donated the Liedts castle, with its library, art collections and park to the city of Oudenaarde in 1907, which opened the domain as a city park. Today the castle is home to the VCL, the Vrijzinnig Centrum Liedts. The park is open to the public and is the green lung of the city of Oudenaarde.

When the sun comes out, the residents of Oudenaarde go to Park Liedts. The 19th-century castle garden is today a city park with winding paths, romantic bridges and ponds with water features.
Like many historic cities, Oudenaarde was also surrounded by water and fortresses. Charles Liedts, an important statesman with a passion for gardening, bought them and built a landscape park based on the English model around 1860. Son Amedée converted his father's country residence into a castle and added his initials to the windows.

Amedée died childless in 1907 and donated Liedts Castle with its garden, library and art collections to the city, on the condition that the boundaries of the park would never change. The donated works of art are today part of the MOU collection
Museum'.
After the Second World War, Park Liedts was opened to visitors.
Today it is a green lung in the heart of the city, where it is wonderful to stroll on the winding paths.
In 2012, part of the historic city wall on the edge of the park was restored
restored. Park Liedts is freely accessible from sunrise to sunset.

Source: oudenaarde.be