Gravensteen Castle

The castle's origins date back to the time of Charlemagne, with an initial wooden structure possibly built by Vikings. Around the year 1000, a stone hall was erected on this site, later supplemented by a curtain wall. After its destruction during a siege in 1128, Philip of Alsace, then Count of Flanders, had the current Gravensteen Castle built between 1180 and 1200. He enlarged the complex and created a motte with a 30-meter-high keep to solidify control over the citizens of Ghent. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the castle was restored and received an oval curtain wall with 24 projecting turrets. Although the Counts of Flanders moved out in the 14th century, the castle continued to be used for feasts and receptions. Later, from 1407 to 1708, it served as a courthouse, including a dungeon and torture chamber. After its sale in 1780, it was converted into a textile factory and narrowly escaped demolition in the late 19th century. The city of Ghent repurchased the castle in 1887 and carried out extensive restoration work starting in 1980.

Gravensteen Castle is located in Ghent, in the province of Oost-Vlaanderen (East Flanders), region of Vlaanderen (Flanders), Belgium, at an elevation of approximately 7 m above sea level.

The castle is open to visitors year-round and can be explored. It houses a weapons museum, a torture instrument and court museum, and guides visitors through 15 stations with multilingual descriptions.

• Kasteel Reijvissche (castle), approx. 5.9 km away
• Kasteel van Zwijnaarde (castle), approx. 6.3 km away
• Kasteel van Laarne (castle), approx. 8.9 km away
• Kasteel van Ooidonk (castle), approx. 11.4 km away