Ghent, East Flanders Province, The Flemish Region, Belgium

Tourist Industry | Museums | Restaurants and culinary traditions | Festivities | Nature | Economy | Transport : Road : Rail | Public transport

🇧🇪 Ghent is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province. It is a port and university city.

The city originally started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Late Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe, with some 50,000 people in 1300.

The municipality comprises the city of Ghent proper and the surrounding suburbs of Afsnee, Desteldonk, Drongen, Gentbrugge, Ledeberg, Mariakerke, Mendonk, Oostakker, Sint-Amandsberg, Sint-Denijs-Westrem, Sint-Kruis-Winkel, Wondelgem and Zwijnaarde. Ghent is Belgium's second largest municipality by number of inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, ranks it as the fourth most populous in Belgium.

The ten-day-long Ghent Festival (Gentse Feesten) is held every year and attended by about 1–1.5 million visitors.

Tourist Industry Architecture: Much of the city's medieval architecture remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored. Its centre is a car-free area. 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 has established a blend between comfort of living and history; it is not a city-museum. The city of Ghent also houses three béguinages and numerous churches including Saint-Jacob's church, Saint-Nicolas' church, Saint Michael's church and St. Stefanus.

The well-known Ghent Altarpiece, a 15th century painting by Hubert and Jan Van Eyck in Saint Bavo Cathedral.

In the 19th century Ghent's most famous architect, Louis Roelandt, built the university hall Aula, the opera house, and the main courthouse. Highlights of modern architecture are the university buildings (the Boekentoren or Book Tower) by Henry Van de Velde. There are also a few theatres from diverse periods.

The beguinages, as well as the belfry and adjacent cloth hall, were recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1998 and 1999.

The Zebrastraat, a social experiment in which an entirely renovated site unites living, economy, and culture, can also be found in Ghent.

Campo Santo is a famous Catholic burial site of the nobility and artists.

One of the more notable pieces of contemporary architecture in Ghent is De Krook, the new central library and media centre, a collaboration between local firm Coussée and Goris and Catalan firm RCR Arquitectos.

Museums: Important museums in Ghent are the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Museum of Fine Arts), with paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, Peter Paul Rubens, 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 Andy Warhol; and the Design Museum Gent with masterpieces of Victor Horta and Le Corbusier. The Huis van Alijn (House of the Alijn family) was originally a beguinage and is now a museum for folk art where theatre and puppet shows for children are presented. The Museum voor Industriële Archeologie en Textiel or MIAT displays the industrial strength of Ghent with recreations of workshops and stores from the 1800s and original spinning and weaving machines that remain from the time when the building was a weaving mill. The Ghent City Museum (Stadsmuseum, abbreviated STAM), is committed to recording and explaining the city's past and its inhabitants, and to preserving the present for future generations.

Restaurants and culinary traditions: In Ghent and other regions of East Flanders, bakeries sell a donut-shaped bun called a "mastel" (plural "mastellen"), which is basically a bagel. "Mastellen" are also called "Saint Hubert bread", because, on the Saint's feast day, which is 3 November, the bakers bring their batches to the early Mass to be blessed. Traditionally, it was thought that blessed mastellen immunized against rabies.

Other local delicacies are the praline chocolates from local producers such as Leonidas, the cuberdons or 'neuzekes' ('noses'), cone-shaped purple jelly-filled candies, 'babelutten' ('babblers'), hard butterscotch-like candy, and of course, on the more fiery side, the famous 'Tierenteyn', a hot but refined mustard that has some affinity to French 'Dijon' mustard.

Stoverij is a classic Flemish meat stew, preferably made with a generous addition of brown 'Trappist' (strong abbey beer) and served with French fries. 'Waterzooi' is a local stew originally made from freshwater fish caught in the rivers and creeks of Ghent, but nowadays often made with chicken instead of fish. It is usually served nouvelle-cuisine-style and supplemented by a large pot on the side.

The city promotes a meat-free day on Thursdays called Donderdag Veggiedag with vegetarian food being promoted in public canteens for civil servants and elected councillors, in all city-funded schools, and promotion of vegetarian eating options in town (through the distribution of "veggie street maps"). This campaign is linked to the recognition of the detrimental environmental effects of meat production, which the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization has established to represent nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The traditional confectionery is the cuberdon (also known as neuzekes or little noses). These are conical sweets with a soft centre, usually raspberry but other flavours can be found on the many street stalls around the city. Between 2011 and 2015 a feud between two local vendors made international news.

Festivities: The city is host to some big cultural events such as the Gentse Feesten, I Love Techno in Flanders Expo, the "10 Days Off" musical festival, the International Film Festival of Ghent (with the World Soundtrack Awards) and the Gent Festival van Vlaanderen. Also, every five years, an extensive botanical exhibition (Gentse Floraliën) takes place in Flanders Expo in Ghent, attracting numerous visitors to the city.

The Festival of Flanders had its 50th celebration in 2008. In Ghent, it opens with the OdeGand City festivities that take place on the second Saturday of September. Some 50 concerts take place in diverse locations throughout the medieval inner city and some 250 international artists perform. Other major Flemish cities hold similar events, all of which form part of the Festival of Flanders (Antwerp with Laus Polyphoniae; Bruges with MAfestival; Brussels with KlaraFestival; Limburg with Basilica, Mechelen and Brabant with Novecento and Transit).

The city of Ghent will co-host the 2021 World Choir Games together with the city of Antwerp. Organised by the Interkultur Foundation, the World Choir Games is the biggest choral competition and festival in the world.

Nature The numerous parks in the city can also be considered tourist attractions. Most notably, Ghent boasts a nature reserve (Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen, 230 hectare; 570 acre) and a recreation park (Blaarmeersen, 87 hectares; 215 acres).

Economy 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, large companies like ArcelorMittal, Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Parts, Honda, and Stora Enso.

The Ghent University and several research-oriented companies, such as Ablynx, Innogenetics, Cropdesign, and Bayer Cropscience, are situated in the central and southern part of the city.

As the largest city in East Flanders, Ghent has many hospitals, schools, and shopping streets. Flanders Expo, the biggest event hall in Flanders and the second biggest in Belgium, is also located in Ghent. Tourism is becoming a major employer in the local area.

Transport As one of the largest cities in Belgium, Ghent has a highly developed transport system.

Transport: Road By car the city is accessible via two motorways: • The E40 connects Ghent with Bruges and Ostend to the west, and with Brussels, Leuven and Liège to the east. • The E17 connects Ghent with Sint-Niklaas and Antwerp to the north, and with Kortrijk and Lille to the south.

In addition, Ghent also has two ringways: • The R4 connects the outskirts of Ghent with each other and the surrounding villages, and also leads to the E40 and E17 roads. • The R40 connects the different downtown quarters with each other and provides access to the main avenues.

Transport: Rail The municipality of Ghent comprises five railway stations: • Gent-Sint-Pieters Station: an international railway station with connections to Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp, Kortrijk, other Belgian towns, and Lille. The station also offers a direct connection to Brussels Airport. • Gent-Dampoort Station: an intercity railway station with connections to Sint-Niklaas, Antwerp, Kortrijk and Eeklo. • Gentbrugge Station: a regional railway station in between the two main railway stations, Sint-Pieters and Dampoort. • Wondelgem Station: a regional railway station with connections to Eeklo once an hour. • Drongen Station: a regional railway station in the village of Drongen with connections to Bruges once an hour. • Gent-Zeehaven station: a regional railway station in the port of Ghent with connections to Gent-Sint-Pieters Station and the town of Terneuzen in The Netherlands.

Public transport: Ghent has an extensive network of public transport lines, operated by De Lijn.

Ghent, East Flanders Province, The Flemish Region, Belgium 
<b>Ghent, East Flanders Province, The Flemish Region, Belgium</b>
Image: Adobe Stock A #157247028

Ghent was ranked #756 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Ghent has a population of over 262,219 people. Ghent also forms the centre of the wider Ghent Arrondissement which has a population of over 553,961 people. It is also a part of the larger East Flanders Province. Ghent is the #201 hipster city in the world, with a hipster score of 3.478 according to the Hipster Index which evaluates and ranks the major cities of the world according to the number of vegan eateries, coffee shops, tattoo studios, vintage boutiques, and record stores. Ghent is ranked #158 for startups with a score of 3.524.

To set up a UBI Lab for Ghent see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Ghent is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Music see: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Ghent has links with:

🇵🇱 Gdańsk, Poland 🇯🇵 Kanazawa, Japan 🇩🇪 Melle, Germany 🇲🇦 Mohammedia, Morocco 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Nottingham, England 🇫🇷 Saint-Raphaël, France 🇪🇪 Tallinn, Estonia 🇻🇳 Thủ Dầu Một, Vietnam 🇩🇪 Wiesbaden, Germany
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | Hipster Index | Nomad | StartupBlink

  • Walter Gropius |

    🇩🇪 🇺🇸 Architect/Furniture/Industrial Designer Walter Gropius is associated with Ghent. In 1911 Gropius joined and subsequently became an active member of the Deutscher Werkbund.

Antipodal to Ghent is: -176.275,-51.055

Locations Near: Ghent 3.72513,51.0548

🇧🇪 Gent 3.717,51.05 d: 0.8  

🇧🇪 Eeklo 3.566,51.185 d: 18.3  

🇧🇪 Oudenaarde 3.6,50.85 d: 24.4  

🇳🇱 Terneuzen 3.833,51.333 d: 31.9  

🇧🇪 Aalst 4.033,50.933 d: 25.5  

🇧🇪 Dendermonde 4.1,51.033 d: 26.3  

🇧🇪 Tielt 3.317,51 d: 29.2  

🇳🇱 Middelburg 3.617,51.5 d: 50.1  

🇳🇱 Goes 3.883,51.5 d: 50.7  

🇧🇪 Kortrijk 3.265,50.828 d: 40.9  

Antipodal to: Ghent -176.275,-51.055

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16687  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 15895.3  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 15856.3  

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 15604.3  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 11876.8  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 11801.6  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 11789.5  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 11784.1  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 11783.5  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 11769.9  

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