Graventoren

Belgium, Belgium

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Graventoren (Count’s Tower), also known as the Mercatortoren, is the surviving tower of a medieval water castle in the village of Rupelmonde, in the municipality of Beveren on the Scheldt in East Flanders, Belgium.

It was originally part of a large 12th‑century fortress built by the Counts of Flanders to control the important junction of the Scheldt and Rupel rivers; in the 13th century the castle was expanded under Countess Margaretha of Flanders and became known as the “burcht met zeventien torens”, a huge moated stronghold with 17 towers used for toll collection, defence and as a State prison.

The castle was notably used to imprison high‑profile figures, including Louis of Nevers, son of Robert III of Flanders; Frank van Borssele, husband of Jacqueline of Hainaut; and the famous cartographer Gerardus Mercator, who was held there for seven months in 1544 on charges of heresy. 

During the wars between the Spanish, Dutch and French in the late 17th century the castle was destroyed in 1678 and never rebuilt, gradually becoming a quarry for local building stone; in 1817 Baron de Feltz cleared most of the ruins and built a new octagonal brick tower on the remaining base of the last surviving tower, using blocks of Tournai stone, and this structure was later turned into a museum and tourist landmark.