Gravensteen Castle, Ghent

Sometime in the 11th century, a wooden structure was replaced by a stone predecessor of the gravestone. The construction work on the current Castle of the Counts began in 1180 under the impulse of Count Philip of Alsace. His successors, the counts of Flanders, stayed here regularly until the middle of the 15th century. Later, the mighty castle also served as a meeting place for the council of Flanders, as a court and as a cotton mill. Weapons and instruments of torture are on display in the castle.
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The Gravensteen owes its existence to the Counts of Flanders. In the ninth century, Count Baldwin II built fortifications in all strategic places in his empire to protect himself against attacks from outside. His son, Arnulf I, continued his work and built a fortress in Ghent, at the confluence of the Lys and Scheldt, on the site where the Castle of the Counts now stands.

Gravensteen Castle (German: "Grafenstein") in Ghent is the castle of the Counts of Flanders. It is one of the largest moated castles in Europe and dates back to the first fortifications in the 9th century.