The Artillery tower or Armoury Tower is one of the few vestiges of the first line of defenses of the medieval French fortress. King Philip the Handsome of France had the tower built along with a castle during the French-Flemish war against the Count of Flanders. Historical documents revealed that the tower was constructed around the year 1300 and was strategically placed between the city moats and the castle moat. The originals use of the tower was to store drinking water and part of the fortifications surrounding the Church of Our Lady. Around 1359, the tower was converted into a storage depot for cannons. A hundred year later, around 1400, the tower became a production and storage area for gunpowder and munitions. Eventually the tower was forgotten and abandoned.
In 1990 Archaeoligists started to excavate the remains. They discovered that the existing tower was standing on the remains of an even older tower as result of finding a well with a large number of weapons and munitions. Soon after the tower is classed as a historic monument. In 2005 the restorations were finished.
The Tower is located on the Deken Zegerplein, next to the Church of Our Lady. You can only visit the tower in the company of a guide.