Gravensteen, Ghent

In the middle of Ghent, a grey stone fortress rises straight out of its moat: a massive central keep, a crenellated gatehouse and an oval curtain wall studded with two dozen small corner turrets. The Gravensteen — "the Counts' Castle" — was built in 1180 by Count Philip of Alsace, and the dedication stone from that year still survives above the entrance.

The site, between two arms of the river Lys (Leie), had been fortified since around 1000, first in timber and later in stone, and an earlier motte-and-bailey castle here burned down around 1176. Philip, who had taken part in the Second Crusade, may have modelled the new stronghold on the crusader castles he had seen in the Holy Land. It was meant not only to protect the counts but also to impress the rich and often rebellious burghers of Ghent. The counts of Flanders lived here until 1353, when Louis of Male moved his court to another residence in the city. Afterwards the castle served as a court and prison, housed Ghent's mint from 1353 to 1491, became hemmed in by houses and, during the city's industrial boom in the 19th century, was turned into a cotton mill. At one point it was even slated for demolition. A local curiosity: a wolf's foot once nailed to the gate is the last archaeological trace of wolves in Flanders.

The city of Ghent bought up the castle piece by piece and, from 1893, had it restored by the architect Joseph De Waele. Following the ideas of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, he tried to bring back the castle's imagined 12th-century appearance; some features, such as the flat roofs, are now considered more romantic than accurate. The restored fortress became the centrepiece of the Ghent World's Fair of 1913 and today houses a museum. In November 1949, 138 students occupied it, lowered the portcullis and pelted police with rotten fruit in protest against a new beer tax — an episode remembered as the "Battle of the Gravensteen".

Ghent grew up where the Scheldt and the Leie meet and by 1300 was one of the largest and wealthiest cities of northern Europe, thanks above all to its cloth industry. Its loss of importance after the late 16th century left an exceptionally well-preserved historic centre, and today it is a lively port and university city, the capital of East Flanders.

Getting there

The castle stands on Sint-Veerleplein in the historic centre of Ghent, less than 1 km from the heart of the city. Gent-Sint-Pieters, the city's main railway station, lies south of the old town. The nearest airport is Antwerp (ANR), about 54 km away.