Dulle Griet
Dulle Griet, meaning “Mad Meg,” is Ghent’s famous medieval giant cannon. Built in the first half of the 15th century in Flanders, it was named after a Flemish folklore heroine. The bombard belonged to Emperor Maximilian I and could fire extremely large stone balls from a barrel almost a meter wide.
The gun was made of wrought iron, built from many bars and rings, and it weighed about 16 tons. Its overall length is about five meters, with a barrel around 3.5 meters long.
Dulle Griet saw action during campaigns, including the Siege of Oudenaarde in 1452, and Ghent later recovered it in 1578. Today it stands near Ghent’s Friday Market square.
Dulle Griet was one of several famous 15th‑century siege guns in Europe, along with Mons Meg in Edinburgh and other large guns such as Pumhart von Steyr, Faule Mette, Faule Grete, and Grose Bochse.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:12 (CET).