Fish market with Neptun This beautiful building with its baroque facade from 1689 stands near to the old Gravensteen on the Saint Veerle square. On top of the facade thrones a statue of Neptune, king of the seas. The other two statues represent the two rivers that flow through Ghent, the Scheldt river and the Leie river.
Neptun himself
Bierhuis Het Waterhuis
The Graslei When visiting Ghent, one should always go to this beautiful area of the city: the Graslei and the Koornlei. These are the names of two streets which lie along the banks of the old harbor of Ghent, right in the middle of the city. Graslei means 'street of the herbs and vegetables'
Boat trip
Interier Dulle Griete
Patershol Near the Gravensteen lies the 'Patershol'. This network of little medieval streets stretches out over a surface of about 4,5 ha. In the Middle-Ages the Patershol was the town-quarter of the trades and handicrafts. In the 17th and 18th century the law court was placed in the Gravensteen ('Count's castle') and therefore magistrates settled in the houses of the Patershol. In the 19th Century the Count's castle was turned into a cotton factory. The magistrates left and their houses were taken over by the textile workers. When the industry left the center of Gent, the Patershol became the quarter of the lower classes, inns and brothels. After the Second World War the entire 'patershol' was renovated (old houses were demolished, new ones were built). Especially since 1980, the Patershol is famous for its many trendy restaurants.
The door
The House
The Bike
Groot Vleeshuis - City Meat Hall Near the Gravensteen stands the impressive meat hall, builtbetween 1407 and 1419. The gothic building with its large stepgable facade was used in the 15th and 16th centuries as the central hall where the butchers of Ghent could sell their meat. It is now a café/restaurant with a very appropriate ceiling decoration.
Gent
Roses
St. Baafskathedraal & The Belfry The Belfry tower of Ghent is perhaps one of the most impressive ones in Flanders. It dominates, together with the St-Nicholas tower and the cathedral tower the medieval center of the city. The architects were Jan van Aelst and Filips van Beergine. The tower was completed in 1338, when the bells were rung for the English king Edward II.
Cat in the shop
View from hotel room
View from hotem room
The Gravensteen is the Dutch name for the 'castle of the count'. The counts of Flanders had castles built in the principal cities of the county. Because they had to maintain law and order, they continuously had to move from one city to the other. Therefore, they disposed of a castle in most cities where they wanted to stay for a few months. The castle of Ghent is the only one which survived the centuries more or less intact.
Gravensteen Today, the Gravensteen has been beautifully restored. It is still partially surrounded by the medieval moat. It can be visited all through the year. Inside of the rooms is a museum about the history of prison life and organization, with a very instructive (?) collection of medieval torture instruments.
Vrijdagmarkt - Friday Market and Jacob Van Artevelde The market has been witness to numerous celebrations as well as battles. Everything that happened here was related to the activities of the corporations of which the weavers and the traders were the most powerful. During the Middle-Ages the fate of Ghent largely depended on the wool trade and industry. When the wool industry flourished, so did the rest of the city.
The Meat Hall
The Koornlei Koornlei stands for 'street of the wheat'.
The Koornlei
The Saint-Michael's bridge From this bridge one can enjoy the beautiful view of the famous Ghent towers: Saint Nicholas' Church, the Belfry and Saint Bavo's Cathedral. This is THE spot to admire the architectural wealth of Ghent.
The 'SPIJKER' is the oldest house at the Graslei. It dates from the end of the 12th, beginning of the 13th century. In this house, the wheat that ships transported via Ghent had to be stocked for two or three weeks. This was due to the fact that Gent had received the privilege to stock grain and wheat in the SPIJKER to have reserves in times of famine.
The Stropke The people of Ghent proudly wear the nickname 'Stropke', which is actually the round part of the rope through which a convict has to stick his head before being hanged. The citizens of Ghent received this name because of the punishment inflicted on the city by its most famous citizen, Emperor Charles V. More on
The Stropke Restaurant
The Statue
The Channel
The Castle of Gerald The Devil Behind the Saint Bavo Cathedral one can see the 'Geeraard de Duivel Steen', or the castle of Gerald the Devil. This little castle was one of the first houses to be build in stone. According to a long-living legend, a man lived here who was called Gerald. He was nicknamed 'the devil' because he married five times. Each time, however, he killed his wife to marry another one. Hence, the devil !. It is now used by the city administration of Ghent for storage of the archives.
The Houses
The Window
The Gravensteen
The Eliot Restaurant
DULLE GRIET ('Mad Maggy') DULLE GRIET is the name of a large medieval canon-gun In the area of the 'Vrijdagmarkt' (Friday's market). It dates from the 15th century. On the chamber of the gun are the arms of the House of Burgundy, a Saint Andrew's cross and the weapons of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The gun measures 5,025 m and weighs 16.400 Kg. It was capable of firing cannonballs of 340 Kg. In 1578 it was brought by ship over the river Scheldt from the town of Oudenaarde to Ghent.
The Dreupelkot Offers more than 170 kinds of Belgian 'jenevers' (gin). Some are home-made. Try the chocolate or vanilla jenever.
The Brasserie Aba-Jour
The Boat - view from Aba-Jour
Rochefort - view from Aba-Jour
The Dulle Griet
The Narrowest street
D´a Chouffe
The Mc Chouffe
The Box
The Empty glasses
Gravensteen by night
Gent by night
The Meat Hall inside
The Belfry A Belfry tower is perhaps the most typical building in medieval Flemish cities. It represents the power of the cities and functioned as treasury and watch tower. In the early Middle-Ages most cities were granted a set of privileges from the count or the duke.
The Belfry The Carillon (or set of Bells) is part of the Flemish tradition of bell music. The most famous of all Flemish bells, the 'Roeland' bell, used to hang in the Belfry. Later, other and smaller bells were hung in the tower. In 1914, one of the bells was electrically tested, with a burst as a result. This bell, the 'Triomfant', can now be seen on the square next to the tower. The tower is also crowned with a guilded dragon, which was cast in Ghent in 1377.
Sint Baafsplein
The Belfry tower
Saint Bavo's Cathedral Ghent may well be the most beautiful city in Belgium and the SAINT BAVO may be the most awesome cathedral in the country. It was named after Saint Bavo, a 7th century local nobleman who became a saint after he had given away his possessions to the poor and entered the monastery. The cathedral with its mighty uprising tower is perhaps the most visible sign of the pride of the citizens of Ghent.
The Chocolate Man
The Chocolate
The Town hall The town hall is situated on the site where until 1482 the town representatives and guild's men met in separate houses. Because these houses were judged too small and too unrepresentative for such important people, it was decided that a new and bigger town hall had to be built. The first stone of this new hall was laid in 1482. The building was finished in 1484. Very soon, however, also this new hall was considered too small and from 1518 until 1535 a new and much bigger town hall was constructed in late-gothic style.
The town hall
The Native
First in last out
The Doors
Restaurant of Gheert
The Fish market
Ghent by night
The shopping
