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Founded: 13th centuryCategory: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Late Capetians (France)
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Château de Saint-Michel-de-Vax (not open), built between 1200 and 1250, was responsible for building the village. The Lord of St Michel Lacombe, Empire General, was born in 1753 and died there in 1812 after a distinguished career immortalized in the 'Georgics' by Claude Simon, one of his descendants, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1985.
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.