Ghent

We went to Ghent for the day this past week. It is one of the larger cities in Belgium. During the Middle Ages, Ghent became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe. While we were there, we explored the Gravensteen Castle. The history of this castle is rather interesting, so I wanted to share it with you. The castle was built in 1180. The castle was used 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 then built against the walls and even on the courtyard and the stones of the walls were used to erect other buildings. At one point, the castle was even a factory. At the end of the 19th century, the castle was going to be demolished, but the city of Ghent decided to buy it and restore it. The castle has been restored enough that we were able to climb all the way to the top! It was quite a view!