Laarne Castle Kasteel van Laarne

Laarne castle is situated 11km/7mi east of Ghent. The 11th/12th C. pentagonal fortress was built to defend Ghent and rebuilt in the 17th C. Today it has two inner courtyards and a large keep on the right-hand facade and is surrounded by a moat. A stone arcaded bridge leads to the entrance.

The interior is furnished in the French and Antwerp styles; with exceptionally beautiful Brussels tapestries (16th C.) depicting the Emperor Maximilian hunting, after cartoons by Bernard van Orley.

On the first floor is a collection of silverwork of European class. It is the Claude Dallemagne Kollektion, which comprises chiefly French and Belgian silver from the 15th-18th C., including a plate designed by Rubens in 1628 which belonged to the Tsarina Catherine II and several splendid tankards.