Great Cannon Square (also Great Cannon Square)

The Great Canon, also known or referred to as Great or Dulle Griet and Red Devil, is a fully forged cannon consisting of a barrel and a chamber made of forged bands. Reportedly weighing 16,000 kilograms and measuring 5.025 meters in length. The rear part of the chamber is marked with a Burgundian St. Andrew's cross, with the flint and fire striker of the Golden Fleece in the corners, and the coat of arms that the dukes of Burgundy have been using since 1430. Presumably a piece of artillery made in the mid-15th century for the dukes of Burgundy, and based on its similarity to the cannon preserved in Edinburgh, likely also made in Bergen (Hainaut). It should not be confused with the Ghent Great Griet or Great Bombarde, an artillery piece that gained great fame in the early Middle Ages. In 1578, the Great Canon was transferred from Oudenaarde to Ghent to supplement the heavy artillery needed to withstand the Spanish occupation. Upon arrival in Ghent, the cannon was found to be unusable and was temporarily placed on wooden trestles. In 1783, the Great Canon was placed on three stone pedestals, decorated with festoons, in the square where it still rests today.

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