Laarne Castle

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Laarne Castle (Dutch: Kasteel van Laarne) is a water castle near Laarne, East Flanders in Belgium near to the provincial capital of Ghent. Laarne Castle is situated at an elevation of 3 meters. Laarne is situated approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-east of the major historic city of Ghent which was the capital of the County of Flanders. Beatrix van Massemen, daughter of Diederik, is explicitly mentioned as the lady of Laarne between 1213 and 1222. She was married to Gerard van Zottegem, the second son of Walter, lord of Zottegem. They had at least ten children. Their son, Giselbrecht van Zottegem, outlived his older brothers and became lord of Ressegem, Leeuwergem, Massemen, Laarne and Kalken. Following his marriage to Mathilde van Bethune, daughter of the lord of Dendermonde, he was granted the lordships of Laarne and Kalken in 1228–1229. According to E. Balthau, he probably had the "hof van Laarne" built shortly afterwards, the forerunner of the castle. Various military activities are known of him. In 1214–1215 he was, with two of his brothers and other Flemish nobles, a mercenary in the service of the English king John Lackland during the rebellion of the English nobles. This would lead to Magna Carta in 1215. In 1217–1218 he took part in the 5th Crusade in Egypt, which would lead to the defeat of the Christian army at Damietta in 1218. A charter with the mention “int hof te Laerne” from 1294 is the first reference to an actual residence on the spot. The first traces of the current castle were built in the early 14th century by the knight Gerard van Massemen who constructed a gatehouse with a wooden bridge across a moat. He added three round towers and a square keep (donjon) connected by walls shortly afterwards. A private...