Gravensteen, the Castle of the Counts, rises in the heart of Ghent as the only surviving medieval fortress with a moat and largely intact defences in Flanders. A Latin inscription above its entrance records that Count Philip of Alsace had it built in 1180, replacing earlier wooden structures with a stone stronghold designed both to defend and to overawe the often rebellious citizens of the wealthy textile town. The castle may have drawn inspiration from the crusader fortresses Philip saw on the Second Crusade. Behind its oval curtain wall, lined with small turrets, stand a massive central keep, the count residence and various outbuildings, all surrounded by a water-filled moat fed from the River Lys, giving the complex an unmistakably martial silhouette in the middle of the modern city. After the counts left in the fourteenth century, the building led a varied and sometimes grim afterlife, serving as a court, a prison, a mint and even, during the industrial age, a cotton mill, with workers houses crowding its walls. By the nineteenth century it was decayed and at one point faced demolition before the city stepped in. A romanticising restoration between 1893 and the early twentieth century, inspired by the ideas of the French restorer Viollet-le-Duc, returned the castle to an imagined medieval appearance. Some details are not strictly accurate, but the result is a complete and dramatic fortress that visitors can explore in full. Inside, the gatehouse, ramparts, keep and residence are open, along with displays on heraldry, medieval justice and a collection of arms and instruments of torture that vividly, if grimly, evoke the period. From the top of the keep, a walk along the battlements offers sweeping views over the rooftops and canals of Ghent. For visitors, Gravensteen combines a genuinely impressive piece of military architecture with an accessible, atmospheric tour, making it an essential stop in one of the best-preserved historic cities of the Low Countries. The castle is open daily, with tickets sold online or at the gate and an audio guide that adds history and a dose of humour to the self-guided route. Standing in the centre of Ghent beside the canals, it is an easy walk from the cathedral and the old guild houses, and it can be reached from Brussels in around half an hour by train, making it a straightforward addition to a day trip to the city.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Sint-Veerleplein 11, Ghent, Belgium

Telephone: +32 9 225 93 06

Website: https://gravensteen.stad.gent

Opening Date: 01/01/1180