Gravensteen
Sign in to saveThe Gravensteen (Dutch; ) is a medieval castle in the city of Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium. The current castle dates from 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. It was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even as a cotton mill. It was restored over 1893–1903 and is now a museum and a major landmark in the city.
Key facts
- Military installation.name
- Gravensteen
- Military installation.location
- Ghent, East Flanders (Belgium)
- Military installation.image
- Gent Gravensteen R01.jpg
- Military installation.image_size
- 300px
- Military installation.caption
- The Gravensteen, seen from the south-east
- Military installation.type
- Castle
- Military installation.built
- 1180
- Military installation.materials
- Sandstone, Tournai limestone
- Military installation.condition
- Restored
- Military installation.ownership
- City of Ghent
- Military installation.open_to_public
- Yes
- Military installation.occupants
- Counts of Flanders (1180–1353)
- Military installation.map_type
- Belgium
via Wikipedia infobox
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Origins
- Subsequent history
- See also
- References
- External links
The Gravensteen (Dutch; ) is a medieval castle in the city of Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium. The current castle dates from 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. It was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even as a cotton mill. It was restored over 1893–1903 and is now a museum and a major landmark in the city.
==Origins== The origins of the Gravensteen date to the reign of Arnulf I (890–965) in the County of Flanders. The site, which sat between two branches of the river Lys, was first fortified around 1000, initially in wood and later in stone. This was soon transformed into a motte-and-bailey castle which was burnt down in around 1176.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gravensteen” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
On the map
3 mapped locations