Glorious Ghent

Ghent – or Gent in Dutch – is the capital city of the Belgian province of Oost-Vlaanderen or East Flanders.

Although there had been a settlement on the city of the current city of Ghent during Roman times and before it was the founding of two abbeys in the 5th Century which established Ghent as a city. In the 12th and 13th Centuries the city had grown to be an important mercantile centre based around the wool trade. Wool was imported from England and numerous guilds were created to look after the interests of the various tradesmen involved in its production and distribution something perhaps echoed in later years when, towards the end of the 19th Century, the first Belgian Trade Union was instituted in Ghent. Likewise the textile industry continued to be a major force in the city with the establishment of the cotton mills, largely due to Lieven Bauwens, a native of Ghent who smuggled the plans for a spinning mule out of England at the end of the 17th Century. Another Ghent native, Emperor Charles V, contributed to the nickname of stropdragers (rope or noose wearers) given to the citizens. As punishment for rebellion against the taxes imposed on them, 50 of the most prominent citizens were forced to parade in front of Charles V wearing a noose around their neck to show they should be hanged. Though this was not the first time such as event had happened, Philip of Burgundy also made the rulers of the city and its guilds beg for his forgiveness wearing only their underclothes with nooses round their necks as punishment for the city’s uprising in 1448.

In more recent times the city was between 1815 and 1830 part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, it was during this time that the Gent University was founded (1817) and in 1930 this became to first Belgian university of teach in the Dutch Language. In 1913 the city hosted the World Exhibition for which a new train station - Gent St. Pieter’s - was built and which still is the entry point for many visitors to this fascinating city

Quick Tips:

Ghent city centre retains much evidence of the city’s medieval power, revealed in its architecture, and the university helps to give the city a youthful, vibrant feel. Thus for the visitor the city has an appealing mixture of attractive buildings, museums, art, canals, cafes, bars, and restaurants.

Unlike many European cities Ghent does not have a main town square or market place as a focal point, though it does have a number of attractive squares such as the Vrijdagmarket which hosts food and other markets and St. Baafsplein between the Cathedral and the Belfort. Instead there are a number of focal points and areas such as St Baafskathedral (St. Bavo’s Cathedral), along the canals, and around the Gravensteen Castle.

A relaxed few days in Ghent might start with a visit to St. Bavo’s Cathedral with its decorated side chapels and paintings including works by Reubens and the Van Eyck Brothers wonderful “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”. The Cathedral stands opposite the Belfry where, in summer, you can make your way to the top of the tower and look out at the city stretched beneath you. Also in the basement of the Belfry is the Tourist Information Office which has maps, information and details of guided tours etc. A short stroll takes you past the impressive Stadhuis decorated with sculptured figures and just beyond that is the Vrijdagmarket and its morning market, restaurants, and bars. Be careful though as many Ghent bars, such as the excellent Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant, stay open until the last person decides to wend their merry way home and the desire to taste just one more delicious Belgian beer may lead you astray!

However, if you do wake with a hangover then a walk by the canal, especially along the Korenlei and on the opposite side the Graslei, is a good way to clear your head or if perambulation is still a little too much for fragile heads then perhaps take a relaxing boat trip on the canal itself. The battlements of the Gravensteen provide an austere but impressive contrast to the pretty waterside walkways and provide excellent views over the city. A quieter reverie can also be had amongst the everyday social and cultural exhibits in the delightful Huis Van Aljin or “Museum of Things that Never Pass”.

Best Way To Get Around:

Being compact the centre of Ghent is easy to walk round and much of it is also pedestrianised, indeed one of Ghent’s claims is that it has the largest pedestrianised area in Europe. It’s also easy to get your bearings by keeping an eye of the three towers of the Belfry, St. Bavo’s, and St. Niklaaskerk. Or if you prefer seated exercise then you can join the many cyclists in Gerent by hiring a bike. Details of where and how to do this plus of course further details of walking tours, public transport etc., can be found at the Tourist Office in the basement of the Belfry.

There is a very good tram and bus service connecting the centre with the outlying districts and trams 1, 10, or 12 serve Gent St. Pieters station and the city centre. Gent St. Pieters is also the connecting station with other towns and cities in Belgium plus Brussels – 30 minutes away – and the Eurostar services and onward travel to Brussels airport. If you prefer to walk it takes about 15 to 20 minutes from Gent St. Pieter’s to the centre of town. The pavements along the route can be quite narrow so if you are carrying or wheeling luggage you may find it a little cumbersome at times. And of course as in most major towns and cities taxis are easy to come by.

Keizershof is an agreeable, bustling restaurant overlooking the Vrijdagmarkt Square. It is a large airy place despite, like a lot of spots in Ghent, looking smaller from the outside than it actually is. The decor is modern, light yellowish walls with paintings by local artists under a very attractive wood beamed ceiling.

The menu is quite small but supplemented by specials chalked onto a board. The cuisine is a mixture of Belgian and Continental, including meat, fish, pasta dishes, plus salads and desserts, main courses come with a separate helping of chips and creamy mayonnaise. The food is well cooked, the combination of flavours well thought out, and very filling. The spicy prawn starter we had left our taste buds tingling, Dover sole was beautifully pan-friend with a light creamy sauce that didn’t overshadow the taste of the fish. Beefsteak with Trappist Beer Sauce was as robust and flavoursome as it sounds and also very plentiful, so much so that my usually carnivorous husband couldn’t finish it.

Service is excellent, relaxed, and friendly if a little slow but that made for a pleasant, leisurely evening. It is popular place with a constant flow of customers so I would certainly recommend booking, especially at the weekend. Prices are very good for the standard of food, 2 courses each plus soft drinks cost approximately 55 euros (£38/$73).

For me the highlight, literally and figuratively, of our visit to the Gravensteen were the battlements. The fact it was an incredibly windy and somewhat wet day only added to the atmosphere of them as you peered over the edge and through the wooden shuttered crenulations and imagined how it would feel to be starring at a hostile invading army. Though conversely I think I would rather be cold but fairly well protected on the battlements than staring up at them contemplating how you were going to attack them while avoiding the threat of arrows, missiles, and boiling oil coming over their lip.

The battlements give fantastic views over the city with great photo opportunities even on the rather dull, cloudy morning we visited and, later when you see a reconstructed catapult, I defy any Monty Python fan not to start thinking “Fetchez la Vache”!

There is quite a lot of scrambling around on uneven surfaces and a few narrow stone spiral staircases to be negotiated so it can be difficult at times, however, overall the Gravensteen is a fascinating place, very evocative and I would wholeheartedly recommend a visit – and when you’re on the battlements don’t forget Monty Python’s French Tauntor “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries”.

The Gravensteen – or Castle of the Counts – is an imposing 12th Century fortress in the centre of the city. Built on the site of early wooden castles, its main purpose has over the centuries been connected to the maintenance of law and order.

Fillips of Alsasse, Count of Flanders between 1157 and 1191, began construction of the present Gravensteen in approximately 1177. The Counts needed to travel round the country in order to assert their authority and maintain law and order. Castles were therefore built in all major cities in order to accommodate them on this circuit. The Gravensteen is the only one of these which still survives. In the 14th Century the Counts abandoned the castles and over the intervening years the Gravensteen was used as a prison, courthouse, mint, and even a cotton factory. By the late 19th century it had fallen into disrepair with much of its stonework crumbling or taken away to build other structures, indeed one of the castle rooms contain some very interesting photographs of the castle at this period including one where houses have been built flush against the castle walls. These can be compared with later photos of the castle after some reconstructive work and, of course, how it looks today. From the end of the 19th century the city began a restoration project and gradually the castle was rebuilt until it resembles its originally structure and now functions as a museum.

On a tour of the castle you follow a numbered route leading you through various rooms and onto the battlements. Each room/area contains a wall plaque in Flemish, English, and French giving information about the room you are in. There are some fine vaulted ceilings, brick fireplaces and stone columns. Having just taken part in a play set in Knaresborough castle during 1171 (“Four Knights in Knaresborough” by Paul Webb) we were able to relate rooms of the Gravensteen to scenes in the play and it was quite joyous imaging that this was the sort of fireplace Steve’s character would warm himself at or a spiral stone staircase such as my character would climb with wood and food. Or, for anyone who knows the play, the wonder of an outside battlement latrine!

One room contains some quite fearsome looking weaponry and armour and in other a gruesome array of torture implements. The latter really do prey on your mind when, towards the end of the tour, you stand in a cellar where such instruments were used and image the suffering that took place. Likewise standing in front of a reconstructed guillotine, a feature of another room, provokes feelings of both revulsion and fascination as you marvel at the bleakly practical efficiency of such a killing machine.

This wonderful museum of social/cultural history or “Museum of Things that Never Pass” is situated in a group of attractive 14th Century almshouses surrounding a lovely courtyard.

The first few rooms look at subjects such as birth, marriage, education, and death in the late 19th/early 20th centuries exploring the rituals surrounding them and, in particular, the religious attitudes prevalent at the time, the latter touching on such themes as sexuality and the place of women in society. There are detailed information sheets in each room, available in a number of languages, and though the exhibits themselves are not labelled in English this really doesn’t matter as the information sheets give such good background information. The next rooms look at more communal aspects of society such as café culture, sport, and entertainment. Exhibits include costumes, toys, household items, musical instruments, photographs, and posters, plus some very individual objects such as talismans given to pregnant women and nursing Mothers to protect themselves and their children at a time when birth was a dangerous procedure and early infancy a difficult time.

Across the courtyard rooms traditional shops such as the pharmacy, barber shop, bakery and, our favourite, the sweet shop are reconstructed. The latter, with a little booklet describing the different styles of traditional sweets made in Belgian, their names and significance – many of which are still made and can be seen on sale in the chocolate shops outside – took me back to my own childhood of ‘penny bits’ and the excitement of jars and jars of colourful, tempting boiled sweets, and candies.

In the latter part of the museum are rooms decorated in the style of 1950s to 1970s with, again, a selection of household items, toys, etc. of the period. There was great excitement when one of the display cases was found to contain original Star Wars Trading Cards and I also felt quite wistful gazing on the same kind of plate-warmer I remember gracing our dinner tables in the early '70s. There are also a room of wonderful home movies on a variety of subjects such as weddings, days out, conformations, meals, etc. acting as a kind of moving commentary on what you’ve seen before.

The museum reminded me a lot of another museum of social history, the Castle Museum in York, and like that museum I found myself fascinated by the ordinary yet remarkable minutiae of everyday life, how some of it changes and some remains the same as the years pass.

Displayed in one of the side chapels near to the entrance in St. Bavo’s Cathedral (Sint-Baafskathedraal) Jan and Hubert Van Eyck’s magnificent polyptych “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” is a wonderful example of early Renaissance art.

The painting was commissioned in 1420 by wealthy merchant Joost Vijd and his wife Elisabeth Borluut to be placed in their private chapel. It was completed in 1432, during the week the panels were closed to show the outside paintings, the annunciation of Mary and portraits of Joost Vijd and his wife. On Sundays and Religious holidays the panels were opened so the inside pictures could be viewed. From its inauguration the painting has attracted visitors though not all such attentions have been friendly.

Towards the end of the 16th Century Protestants wished to burn the picture, at the end of the 17th Century parts of it were removed to France and only returned after the defeat of Napoleon and in the early 19th Century the panels depicting the naked Adam and Eve were considered too shocking and replaced with ones in which the figures were clothed. By 1920 all panels were back in their original state and setting, however, in 1934 the lower left hand panel called The Last (or Just) Judges was stolen and has never been recovered. A 1945 reproduction of the panel by Jef Vanderveken replaces this. The painting is no longer in the Vijd chapel, though there is a reproduction placed in there to give a sense of how the chapel would have looked with the painting in situ.

The small entrance fee to see the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb includes a long but interesting audio guide which takes you through the various panels explaining both the techniques used by the artists and the iconography of the art. For instance in the top centre panel the image can be identified as both Jesus and God as the panel contains elements characteristic to both and in the lower panel where the Holy Spirit, symbolised by a dove, hovers of the Lamb of God, it is possible to recognise individuals i.e. saints, by what they are wearing and carrying.

There is so much details in the painting it is quite astounding for instance the representation of the vegetation is so precise botanists have been able to identify over 40 different species. However, the audio guide allows you to focus in on certain aspects. In the panels depicting singing angels art historians have been able to deduce what note each angels is singing by studying the shape of their mouth and you notice how it appears as Adam is stepping out of the painting.

It is a captivating work of art which demands and keeps your attention and sitting in the chapel with just the low susurration of the audio guides as background is a very comforting experience.

The imposing cathedral of St. Bavo’s (Sint-Baafskathedraal) with its square tower topped with four small spires is a recognisable silhouette on the skyline of Ghent.

There has been a church on the site of St. Bavo’s Cathedral since 942, originally dedicated to St. John. This was replaced in 1038 and then, in the latter half of the 13th Century, construction began on a bigger Gothic inspired building. However it was not until 200 years later – on 7th June 1569 – that the church was consecrated. During that time the Abbey of St. Bavo’s had been closed and the canons moved to St. John’s Church, renaming it St. Bavo’s Cathedral. St Bavo had been a 7th century nobleman, dissolute in his youth, who upon conversion to Christianity gave his possessions and wealth to the poor and become a monk. He is the patron saint of Ghent and also Harlaam in the Netherlands.

The first thing you notice in the interior of the church is the high 33m brick ceiling soaring above you and the elaborate baroque pulpit. There are some very attractive side chapels containing decorated tombs and paintings though some, unfortunately, are not very well lit and you can find yourself squinting into them to see details. The information sheet takes you round a numbered tour; the details given are a bit sparse but enough to advise you who created the works of art contained therein, which includes “Saint Bavo Entering the Monastery” by Peter Paul Reubens.

For most people, however, the highlight will be Jan and Hubert Van Eyk’s sublime “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” displayed in the Villa Chapel. (See separate tip.)

Please note no photography is allowed inside the cathedral.

Ghent has a wealth of fantastic bars but Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant must be one of the best of them.

It has an enviable position overlooking the canal and serves a wide range of bottled and draft beers, including one the name of which I sadly can’t remember (we started the evening faithfully writing down the names of the beers plus tasting notes, we ended it merely saying “Cheers!” followed by a contended “Aaah” as the first sip went down!) but which is only available at Het Waterhuis.

It’s a lively place, busy which means you may have to wait to get a seat but well worth the wait as, apart from the great selection of beer and convivial atmosphere, you never know what conversations you may strike up with the people you share a table with. Be warned though, it is smoky which may not be to everyone’s taste. And with a closing time of when the last person leaves (we were there until 12.30am one night) it’s wise to pace your beer and not immediately jump in with a couple of 12%-ers

In summer with the windows open to the warm evening air and the buzz of conversation spilling out over the canal it must be great but neither was it bad on a wet March night cosy and warm inside while the rain furrowed the surface of the canal. Cheers!

Café den Turk at Botermarkt 3 is situated only a short stroll, or stumble depending on whether you are on your way to or have already sampled a few Belgian beers, away from St. Bavo’s Cathedral and the Belfort in central Ghent.

From the outside it looks as if it is going to be a small, intimate bar but inside it is deceptively spacious with an L shaped bar area at the front and a number of nook and cranny rooms at the back. It does, however, retain an intimate yet convivial atmosphere, emphasised by the pleasant jazz and blues music playing in the background, at a volume that compliments rather than drowns out conversation.

The decor is brown and cream walls with dark panelling ornamented by a few pictures and paintings. The porcelain light fittings of various different designs hang low over the tables providing a warming amber glow. Staff are extremely friendly and the bottled beer selection though smaller than some other bars in the city is very good and there are also a number of beers on tap. The clientele seems to be a mixture of ages, locals, and visitors and when we were there on a Saturday evening the atmosphere was lively yet relaxed with a good smattering of laughter and conversation.

As well as drinks the bar also serves snacks such as sandwiches and croquettes we didn’t have any, however, choosing instead to sample a few glasses of wonderful Belgian beer. And very good they were too!