At Skäftekärr you willl find an Iron Age village, where you can see the excavated foundations of twenty two houses. There is a full-scale reconstruction of an Iron Age House, where visitors can get a real sense of how people lived about fifteen hundred years ago. There are signposted walks and trails in the area. You’ll also find a beautiful landscaped park with an arboretum containing 140 types of tree. There is a children’s playground, a cafe and restaurant here.
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.