Ghent
This page is about the Belgian city. For other places called Ghent, see Ghent (disambiguation).Ghent (;
Gent in
Dutch;
Gand in
French, formerly
Gaunt in
English) is a
city and a
municipality located in
Flanders,
Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the
East Flanders Province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers
Scheldt and
Lys and became in the
Middle Ages one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe. Today it is a busy city with a
port and a
University. The city is connected to the sea by the
Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, it lies at the intersection of the
European highways E17 and
E40 and it has the third busiest railway station in Belgium.
The municipality comprises the city of Ghent proper and the towns of
Afsnee,
Desteldonk,
Drongen,
Gentbrugge,
Ledeberg,
Mariakerke,
Mendonk,
Oostakker,
Sint-Amandsberg,
Sint-Denijs-Westrem,
Sint-Kruis-Winkel,
Wondelgem and
Zwijnaarde. With 233 120 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006, Ghent is Belgium's second largest municipality and the country's
third largest conurbation. The current
mayor of Ghent,
Frank Beke, leads a coalition of the
SP.a and
VLD.
Archeologic evidence shows human presence in the region of the confluence of Scheldt and Lys going back as far as the
Stone Age and the
Iron Age. Most historians believe that the older name for Ghent, 'Ganda' is derived from the Celtic word 'ganda' which means
confluence. There are no written records of the Roman period but archeological research confirms that the region of Ghent was further inhabited.
When the
Franks invaded the Roman territories (from the end of the 4th century and well into the 5th century) they brought their language with them and Celtic and Latin were replaced by
Old Dutch.
Around 650
Saint Amand founded two
abbeys in Ghent the
Saint Peter Abbeye and the
Saint Bavo Abbeye. The city grew from several nuclei, the abbeys and a commercial centre. Around 800
Louis the Pious, son of
Charlemagne, appointed
Einhard, the biographer of Charlemagne, as abbot of both abbeys. In 851 and 879 the city was however attacked and plundered twice by the vikings.
The city recovered and flourished from the 11th century on. Until the 13th century Ghent was the biggest city in Europe after Paris; it was bigger than
London,
Cologne or
Moscow. Within the city walls lived up to 65,000 people. Today, the
belfry and the towers of the
Saint Bavo Cathedral and
Saint Nicholas' Church are just a few examples of what could be called the 'Manhattan of the Middle Ages'.
The rivers flowed in an area where a lot of land was periodically inundated. These richly grassed 'meersen' ("
water-meadows": a word related to the English 'marsh', but not meaning exactly the same, a 'meers' is not permanently under water) were ideally suited for herding sheep, the wool of which was used for making cloth. In fact, Ghent was during the Middle Ages the most important city for cloth.
The wool-industry, originally established at
Bruges, created the first European industrialized zone in Ghent in the High Middle Ages. The mercantile zone was so highly-developed that wool had to be imported from England. This was one of the reasons for Flanders' good relationship with England. Ghent was the birthplace of
John of Gaunt,
Duke of Lancaster. The trade with England suffered significantly during the Hundred Years War.
The city recovered in the
14th century, while Flanders was united with neighbouring provinces under the
Dukes of Burgundy. High taxes led to a rebellion and eventually the
Battle of Gavere, in which Ghent suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of
Philip the Good. Around this time the center of gravity in the Low Countries started to shift from Flanders (Bruges–Ghent) to
Brabant (
Antwerp–
Brussels), although Ghent would continue to play an important role.
In 1500
Juana of Castile gave birth to
Charles V, who became
Holy Roman Emperor and
King of Spain. Although native to Ghent, he punished the city after the 1539
Revolt of Ghent and obliged them to walk in front of the emperor barefoot with a noose (Dutch:
strop) around the neck. Since this incident the people of Ghent are called
"Stroppendragers" (noose bearers).
The late 16th and the 17th century brought devastation because of the
Religious wars. At one time Ghent was a calvinistic city, but eventually the Spanish army reinstated catholicism. The wars ended the role of Ghent as a center of international importance.
In the 18th and 19th century Ghent the textile industry flourished again in Ghent.
Lieven Bauwens introduced the first mechanical weaving machine on the European continent, of which he smuggled the plans out of England.
Ghent was also the site of the signing of the
Treaty of Ghent which formally ended the
War of 1812 between
Britain and the
United States of America. After the
battle of Waterloo Ghent became a part of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands for 15 years. In this period Ghent got its own
university (1817) and a
new connection to the sea (1824â€"27).
After the
Belgian Revolution, the first Belgian trade-union originated in Ghent. In 1913 there was a
World exhibition in Ghent. As a preparation for these festivities the
Sint-Pieters railway station, was completed in 1912.
|
The Graslei is one of the most beautiful places in Ghent's old city centre. The bridge to the right is the Sint-Michielsbrug, the building on the corner is the former postal office and in the distance to the right the three towers of Ghent can be seen. |
Architecture
Much of the city's
medieval architecture remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored. Its center is the largest
carfree area in Belgium. Interesting highlights are the
Saint Bavo Cathedral with the
Ghent Altarpiece, the
belfry, the
Gravensteen castle, and the splendid architecture along the old Graslei harbour. Ghent established a nice blend between comfort of living and history - it is not a city-museum. The city of Ghent houses also three
béguinages and numerous churches, among which the Saint-Jacobs church and the Saint-Nicolas Church are the most beautiful examples. There is an opera house and a few theatres. Highlights of modern architecture are the University buildings (the "
Boekentoren" or Book Tower) by
Henry Van de Velde.
Restaurants
As most
Belgian cities, Ghent offers a rich variety of local and foreign cuisine. Especially the quarter called "Patershol" has a concentration of restaurants. The "Sleepstraat" a little bit further north houses a bunch of Turkish restaurants and food bars.
Festivities
The city is host to some big cultural events such as the
Gentse Feesten,
I Love Techno,
Flanders International Film Festival Ghent and
Festival van Vlaanderen. In weekends, the city offers night bus services free of charge.
Museums
Important museums in Ghent are the
Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Museum of Fine Arts), with paintings by
Hieronymus Bosch,
Jean Fouquet, and many Flemish masters; the
SMAK or Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (City Museum for Contemporary Art), with works of the 20th century, including
Joseph Beuys and
Panamarenko; and the
Designmuseum. The Huis van Alijn (House of the Alijn family) was originally a
beguinage and is now a museum for folk art. This museum often presents theatre and puppet shows for children. There is also a museum presenting the industrial strength of Ghent, the Museum voor Industriële Archeologie en Textiel or
MIAT. Here you can find recreations of workshops and stores from the 1800s and can see the spinning and weaving machines that remain in this building what was once a weaving mill.
The
port of Ghent, in the north of the city, is the third largest
port of Belgium. It is accessed by the
Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, which ends near the
Dutch port of
Terneuzen on the
Western Scheldt. The port houses, among others, big companies like
Sidmar,
Volvo Cars,
Volvo Trucks,
Volvo Parts,
Honda,
Stora Enso.
The
Ghent University and a number of reasearch oriented companies are situated in the centre and southern part.
As the biggest city of East-Flanders, Ghent has many hospitals, schools and shopping streets.
More and more tourism becomes a major segment of employment.
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Emperor Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500 |
Famous people that were born, lived or died in Ghent include
*
Saint Amand*
Leo Baekeland*
Lieven Bauwens*
Saint Bavo*
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor*
Johan Daisne*
Einhard*
John of Gaunt*
Daniel Heinsius*
Jan Hoet*
Jodocus Hondius*
Victor Horta*
René Jacobs*
Louis XVIII of France*
Rosalie Loveling and
Virginie Loveling*
Maurice Maeterlinck*
Richard Minne*
Gerard Mortier*
Jacob Obrecht*
Joseph Plateau*
Jean Ray*
Jacques Rogge*
Marc Sleen*
Piet Van Eeckhout*
Jacob van Artevelde*
Frits van den Berghe*
Hugo van der Goes*
Théo van Rysselberghe*
Jan Frans Willems*
Wiesbaden,
Germany*
List of Mayors of Ghent*
Ghent University*
K.A.A. Gent*
Official website - Information available in
Dutch,
English,
French and
German*
Use-it.be - Ghent for youngsters
*
Radio Urgent - Local Radio Station run by young people
*
Beyondjazz.net - Beyondjazz.net Ghent Cityguide
*
Gent.blogt - Blog about Ghent
*
An image gallery - with 21 pictures about Gent
