Rabot

In the past you would find a fortified lock at the place where the Lieve canal and the city canal of Ghent came together. In 1491, a structure with two towers was constructed here to defend the water structure. This water construction consisted of a rabot, the predecessor of the modern lock. Nowadays you can still find the monumental building on this spot. Over the years, the structure has been given the name Rabot, after the water construction that was located here. In 1488, Maximilian of Austria took advantage of a weak spot in the defense here to take Ghent. After 40 days of siege, his army left again and the building was immediately reinforced with two towers. The structure is also popularly called 'the Torekes' because of these towers. A district has been created around the monumental building with the name Rabot. This district was developed from the end of the 19th century.