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Gravensteen

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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.

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

Wikidata facts

Instance of
water castle
Country
Belgium
Located in
Ghent
Body of water
Lieve
Owned by
Ghent
Image
Gravensteengent22042008.JPG
Has use
museum
Show 8 more facts
Commons category
Gravensteen (Ghent)
postal code
9000
inception
1180-00-00
street address
Sint-Veerleplein 11
different from
Gravesteen
P12674
Galagidae
applies to jurisdiction
Flemish Region
Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

5 sections
Contents
  • 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