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Gravensteen, Ghent

4.3

#1 of 253 in Museums in Flanders

Castle History Museum

• ©

Modeled after crusaders' castles, Gravensteen dates back to the Middle Ages. Up until the 14th century, the castle acted as the seat of the counts of Flanders, later becoming a courthouse, a prison, and a factory. In 1885, the city of Ghent purchased the castle, saving it from demolition. The city renovated the castle, restoring the walls and dungeon to near-original condition. Inside, visit two museums displaying medieval tools. The arms museum showcases medieval weapons, such as swords, crossbows, and bludgeons. Explore the museum of judicial objects for an exhibit of torture devices, including shackles, a torture wheel, thumb screws, and more disturbing objects. Climb the narrow spiral staircase to the top for a view of Ghent below. A visit to Gravensteen represents just the start of the adventure when you use our Ghent trip itinerary planner to plot your vacation.

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Gravensteen Reviews

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TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4,729 reviews

Google

4.5

facebook

4.4

701 likes

• By Pima_travel

  Будучи в Генте непременно посетите замок и обязательно возьмите аудиогид! Входной билет стоил 10 евро. Аудиогида на русском нет, но на английском - просто потрясающий, советую брать даже тем, кто плох...  more »

  Being in Ghent is sure to visit the castle and be sure to take an audio guide! The entrance ticket cost 10 euros. There is no audio guide on the Russian, but in English - just amazing, I advise you to take even those who do not speak English well! Loved the presentation of the history of the castle (with humor and additional sound effects is perceived very easily and interestingly). Without an audio guide, the castle would leave an impression like many other castles in Europe.
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• By paresik

  Ένα μαγευτικό κάστρο στην καρδιά της Γάνδης.Πρέπει να το επισκεφθείτε οπωσδήποτε. Είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακό,σαν σε παραμύθι. Το εισιτήριο είναι αρκετά φθηνό 10€ το άτομο.  more »

  A majestic castle in the heart of Ghent. You should definitely visit it. It's very impressive, like in a fairy tale. The ticket is quite cheap €10 per person.
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Google

• By Lucija Plantak

  I really enjoyed the visit to this amazing castle. The structure itself is stunning, but with the free audio guide you truly find out a lot of intriguing details and it's all being told by a funny storyteller in a witty way. The possibility to do everything in your own pace and play the recordings when it suits you makes the visit even more enjoyable. It is really nice to see how much effort they put into modernizing the tour and into making the rich history of the castle interesting to wider audiences. The staff was also very polite and cheerful. Highly recommend!!

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• By Ron weiss

  Beautiful Castle with a cool history. Get the city card and the audio tour/ admission is covered. Loved that we can explore many areas of the castle, the roof (great city views) and the dungeon. The audio tour had great historical content.

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