Gravesteen

The Gravesteen is a castle right smack in the Ghent city center. I think one would be hard pressed to think of other cities which have a castle in the middle. The castle is surprisingly old as it was built in 1180. The age of the castle is showing since it really looks like it may fall apart. Fortunately, a lot of maintenance has gone into preserving this imposing castle and almost a thousand years after it was built, it still stands. As far as castles are concerned, the Gravesteen wasn’t particularly important. It was the seat of the Counts of Flanders up until the 14th century until it was abandoned. After that, it served various functions until it was eventually abandoned.

It was neglected until houses started to be built on top of the castle and the stones have started to be cannibalized by the locals. Eventually the city came to its senses and it was restored to it present state. It is now some sort of museum where people can enjoy the life in a castle. It is quite a brilliant move since the castle gets restored and people get to know more about the history of Ghent because of this. Upon entry, one would be greeted by a knight, you can pose with the knight but I’m quite sure his armor is very uncomfortable to wear especially in the heat. We didn’t go in anymore but merely took photos with the knight as well as take photos of the castle itself.

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