Ghent
Port city and capital of East Flanders province, northwest Belgium, situated at the junction of the rivers Lys and Schelde, 55 km/34 mi northwest of Brussels; population (2003 est) 226,900. Industries include textiles, chemicals, electronics, metallurgy, and motor-vehicle manufacturing. It is also the trade centre of a flower- and bulb-producing region. One of Belgium's oldest cities (first mentioned in the 7th century), it was the historic capital of Flanders. The cathedral of St Bavon (12th–14th centuries) has paintings by van Eyck and Rubens.
History
Ghent was first mentioned in the 7th century, and in the Middle Ages became the chief town of Flanders. A major wool-producing centre, it was rivalled only by Bruges and Ypres. It waged violent wars against Burgundy. Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, rebelled against both Charles V and Philip II of Spain, and was several times captured by the French. The city was incorporated in the kingdom of the United Netherlands under the peace of Paris in 1814, and passed to Belgium on the establishment of that kingdom in 1830.
Features The city is divided by its many streams and canals into 26 islands, connected by 64 bridges. The building of new roads and streets has destroyed much of the medieval character of the city, but many of the old buildings are still preserved. The best view of the city is to be had from the 95 m/312 ft belfry (1183–1339) in the city centre. Ghent is the seat of an archbishopric. There are several museums. The university was established in 1816. |
Industries The city is an industrial centre, and is Belgium's primary textile producer. Machinery and chemicals are also manufactured, and a major iron and steel industry has been established at Zelzate on the ship canal between Ghent and Temeuzen, Netherlands. Other industries include paper production, car manufacture, optical products, and electrical and electronic engineering. There are many nursery gardens around the city producing for export. A flower show, the Floralies, is held in Ghent every five years. Ghent is Belgium's second port after Antwerp, with links to the Belgian canal network. |
Art and architecture Most famous of the many churches is the cathedral of St Bavon (10th–16th centuries), one of the best examples of pure Gothic in Belgium, and which features marble interior decoration. The cathedral is rich in art treasures, amongst them the Adoration of the Lamb (1432) by Hubert van Eyck and by Jan van Eyck. The cathedral also contains a noted Rubens painting. Other fine churches are the 13th-century church of St Nicolas, the church of St Jacques, with a 12th-century Romanesque facade, the 16th-century church of St Michael, containing Anthony van Dyck's Crucifixion (1627), and the baroque church of St Peter. The castle of Gravenstein (1180) is considered the most perfect example of a medieval fortress in Belgium. |
| Other important buildings are the Duivelsteen (1245), the Cloth Hall (1325), the town hall (1518–1620), and the numerous old guild houses, one of which dates back to the 13th century. The arch of the old Prinsenhof, where Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor (1519–56), was born in 1500, still stands. Ghent has about 20 monasteries and three beguinages (convents), the oldest dating from the 13th century. Flemish painting flourished under the Burgundian dynasty (15th century); Hugo van der Goes worked there most of his life. |
