Bang opposite to the Tourist Information Office, as soon as I got out of it was the majestific Castle of the Counts aka Gravensteen. This is the oldest, medieval fortress that’s still standing in the whole of Flanders.
The history of this too belongs to Roman settlements. This was then occupied by the Vikings and then by 10th C CE, the castle was built here but with wood, as the court of Arnulf I. Soon after that, by 11th C CE this was rebuilt as a 3 tiered stone castle with 24 towers! It became the luxurious residence of the Count’s royal household under Counts Baldwin IV & V. BY 12th C CE, this became a much elaborate castle with moats and mounds under Count Thierry of Alsace. However all of it was majorly damaged in 1176 fire. ![]()
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As soon as I entered, it was through the shop located inside Great Hall, which still has reminiscence of the original stone castle of 11th C CE. Immediately the next stop was in the 1st floor where the Governer’s House! The gorgeous old, simple, circular, stained glasses, were just beautiful bringing in the sunlight in such an ethereal beauty!The Banquet Hall today, houses one of the 2 inhouse museums - Arms Museum. This has the collection of arms from throughout the history since medieval times. Pistols inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl were just gorgeous! The cross bows & 7ft spears did remind me of Game of Thrones!!!!! Further up from here takes you to the rooftop from where the view of the towers that form the gorgeous skyline of Ghent is so beautifully seen. Down again from here is the other inhouse museum - Museusm of Judicial Objects which houses all those torture instruments of the medieval era esp 14th - 18th C CE. Remember some from the Ripley’s Believe it or not and Tower of London? Here, it was just plain crazy!!! There was actual sample of the guillotine - which has a sack on the other side to hold the head after it falls off!!!!! But that’s nothing - get ready for gory………. There was a thumb holder, which holds the thumbs of the 2 hands together to enable the prison guard to pull off the 2 nails! There was an iron chain with spikes which was originally attached to a drum which was rolled over the accused guy. There was a spiked iron neck collar which was made to wear by the accused as he is seated on a metal chair with fire beneath!!! There were plain iron neck collar which some were made to wear, as a less cruel punishment!!! Yes, these are branding meant for jailed inmates, which would tell what kind of forced labour they’ve been punished with. T would mean Temporary, TP would mean Life Long, TPF would mean Life Long for Forgers!!!! Today we don’t even do hot iron branding on cattle……..
There is an underground cellar which has the remains of the original stone house. This became a dungeon under Philip of Alsace. There is another underground room which served as the toilet!!! The outer courtyard also served as the execution site for people who had to be executed without the public glare!!!
There is a room which once served as the chapel with a cross shaped window behind the altar. Later during middle ages, this room became a prison with ‘sugar drawer’ - a metal cage to lock people in! The outer wall is can be walked upon today. It once served as the protective wall from where soldiers defended the castle! Today the view of the River Lys from this wall is just pretty, esp with the people kayaking in those colorful boats, its one gorgeous view!On a totally different note, my blog has been nominated for Indiblogger Awards... Do show some love 💕💖💗💝 and click this pic & add a testimonial! Your testimonials count for 20% in final evaluation!
To Stay:
Hotels at all price points are available in Ghent City Centre.
To Get There:
To Ghent: Refer to my earlier postLocal transport in Ghent possible with bus & tram (incl in the City Card Ghent All in).
Timings: 10:00AM to 6:00PM in summers; 9:00AM to 5:00PM in winters.
P.S: I was invited by VisitGent to experience the city and hosted by Historic Hotels Belgium for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service. 
