Rabot

Description

"Rabot" is a city gate in Gent (Oost-Vlaanderen). Originally a "rabot" (water engineering structure), the name later applied to defensive towers built on it. In 1488, during the Flemish Revolt against Maximilian of Habsburg, Gent repelled besieging troops after 40 days. To commemorate, locals built two monumental towers on the existing rabot along the Lieve canal in 1491, forming a fortified sluice to the Zwin estuary and sea. After Maximilian's 1492 victory, he ordered demolition for a Prinsenhof fortress, but Gent paid a heavy fine instead.