There’s a castle in the middle of Gent, constructed around 1180.  A rich and mean guy had it built.  He wanted to lord it over all the little people he could see in the streets below.  He was a knight, happy to run others through with his blade, and torture them if they did something wrong.

On the outside, Gravensteen looks sedate:

Jagger and I went exploring.  A little part of me felt like a voyeur.  What actually happened in the torture room?  But I was looking for happier stories.

Such as provided by school groups …

Young hearts shared the room with suits of armour, and weapons of all types – all designed to conflict maximum damage.  I lifted my head from the display cases to the eyes of the children.  I found a home there.  There were glances between friends, hands being held, and animated tour guides creating wonder in fresh minds.

A collection of drawings hung on a stone wall, so gentle until they were inspected more closely:

I won’t go into detail.  The bottom line is that if you slandered someone, stole from them, abused a woman or printed counterfeit money, punishment was swift and brutal.

A tour guide brought a group of kids to the centre of a room.  She asked them to join hands, and then a simple song and dance:

I sang along and moved my feet.  Such sweetness surrounded by the history of such pain.

Another room, an infamous one.  This was a place of interrogation.  The potential criminal sat immobile because moving would hurt so much.  Then question after question.

Friends and family of the accused were allowed into the room to cheer the person on, so that he or she would not be alone through the ordeal.

One man was questioned for eight days, with a frequent replenishment of supporters.  His friends would not let him die.  Finally the metal noose was removed and he was set free.

***

Initially I said no to having an audio guide

but I’m glad I changed my mind

There was so much to learn … and feel