Some teenages in kayak near the Gravensteen castle (1180), former seat of the Counts of Flanders in Ghent, Belgium
The Gravensteen is a castle in Ghent originating from the Middle Ages. The name means "castle of the count" in Dutch. The Gravensteen is situated at an altitude of 9 meters. The present castle was built in 1180 by count Philip of Alsace and was modeled after the crusaders castles that Philip of Alsace encountered while he participated in the second crusade. Before its construction, there stood a wooden castle on the same location, presumably built in the ninth century. The castle served as the seat of the Counts of Flanders until they abandoned it in the 14th century. The castle was then used as a courthouse, a prison and eventually decayed. Houses were built against the walls and even on the courtyard and the stones of the walls were used to erect other buildings. At one time it even served as a factory. At the end of the 19th century, the castle was scheduled to be demolished. In 1885 the city of Ghent bought the castle and started a renovation project. The castle was restored initially in 1893. The newly built houses were removed and the walls and keep were restored to their original condition.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Gravensteen, Sint-Veerleplein 11, 9000 Ghent, East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 12th-century, ages, alsace, architecture, attraction, belgian, belgium, blue, boat, boats, castle, counts, cultural, culture, east, europe, european, facade, flags, flanders, flemish, fort, fortified, fortress, gent, ghent, gravensteen, historical, history, kayak, landmark, lieve, medieval, middle, moat, philip, sightseeing, sky, sports, stone, sunny, tourism, tourist, tourists, tower, towers, transport, transportation, travel, visitor, wall, walled, water
