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Czluchów Gate is the only surviving gate out of the three entrances which once led to the town. The remaining two (Młyńska and Gdańska) were pulled down in 1838. The gates constituted a significant element in the town’s defensive system. All of them had drawbridges at the front, with bridgeheads protecting it from the other side. A six-floor Czluchów gate was built on a square plan in the Pomeranian Gothic style. Its first floors form an entrance, with doors which are considered to have led to rooms with a mechanism for lifting the portcullis and the drawbridge.
Throughout history the gate has served different purposes. It was used as a watchtower and armoury, then it functioned as a prison for municipal residents. This is when the inscriptions engraved on the brick walls come from. The gate was also a bell tower for Protestant Churches. Today, it houses the exhibition rooms of the Historic and Ethnographic Museum.
The Museum’s collection has been divided into four sections: archaeological, historical, ethnographical, and artistic. The last one is located on the top floor and hosts temporary exhibitions. It overlooks the town from four different directions, offering magnificent views.
References:The Gravensteen is a castle in Ghent originating from the Middle Ages. The name means 'castle of the counts' in Dutch. Arnulf I (918–965), Count of Flanders, was the first to fortify this place, building a medieval bastion on this high sand dune, naturally protected by the river Leie and its marshy banks. This bastion consisted of a central wooden building and several surrounding buildings, also in wood.
In the early 11th century, the wooden building was replaced by a stone residence, consisting of three large halls that made up three storeys, connected by a stone stairwell. The monumental stone staircase, the light openings, the fireplaces built into the walls and the latrines were signs of considerable luxury and comfort in those days. There was probably also a tower.