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GHENT. 



QHEKT. 



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elected sheriffs, adopted a public se»l, and established a court of 

 justice. They joined the association of the Hanse Towns, and obtained 

 from the emperor Fredericli I. the free navigation of the Khine. In 

 IISO Ghent, which was then a populous city, became the capital of 

 Flanders, and obtained a charter trova Count Baldtvin of Halnault, 

 with great privileges. 



By these means the city increaaed so rapidly, that towards the end 

 of the 13th century it exceeded in extent and population the capital 

 of France. At the beginning of the 15th century the number of its 

 citizens employed in the manufacture of woollens, it is said, amounted 

 to 40,000, and in times of war furnished from their number 18,000 

 armed men. With wealth and freedom the weavers and artisans of 

 Ghent waxed turbulent, and led on first by Jacques van Artevelde and 

 afterwards by his son Philip, they gave many a proof of their sturdy 

 valour and the extent of their resources in their frequent insurrections 

 at^ainst the counts of Flautlers, and in the subsequent century against 

 the dukes of Burgundy. Temporary successes however were followed 

 by humiliations, confiscations, and loss of privileges ; and to this spirit 

 of dissension and revolt, and to their intermeddling in the political 

 quarrels of the times, may be ascribed the ultimate oecline of Ghent 

 and the other great Flemish towns. Charles V. was bom at Ghent in 

 February 1500 : Uie site of the palace in which he was bom is now 

 occupied by the new street called Cour des Princes. During his 

 i-eign the city containetl 35,000 houses, and a population of 175,000. 

 In 1537 Maria, sister of Charles V., who then administered the govern- 

 ment of the Netherlands, demanded from Flanders an extraordinary 

 subsidy of 1,200,000 florins of gold, one-third part of which was to be 

 paid by the citizens of Ghent, whoi having already advanced consider- 

 able sums to the emperor towards the expenses of the war with France, 

 refused to comply with this fresh demand, and nmde a show of armed 

 resistance, but were speedily re<Iuced to submission ; and the emperor, 

 to pimish the citizens, took away from them all their privileges, besides 

 confiscating the property of such aa bad been actively concerned in 

 the revolt, sevenil of whom were condemned to death. On this 

 occasion a citadel was erected for the purpose of holding the citizens 

 in check. 



When the confederation was formed for expelling the Spaniards 

 from the Belgian provinces, a congress was held in Ghent; and a 

 document known in hLitory as ' the Pacification of Ghent' was 

 publicly signed by the confederates met together in the town-hall 

 8th November 1576. Ou the 11th of the same month the Spanish 

 garrison shut up in the citadel capitulated to the citizens. This citadel 

 wu afterwards destroyed ; but some portions of it may still be seen 

 near the railway station to the east of the town. 



The capitulation signed 17th September 1584 again placed Ghent 

 under the dominion of Spain; the citadel was rebuilt, and so many of 

 the inhabitants quitted the city that one-thini of the houses were 

 empty. In 159.S the Belgian provinces were severed from the crown 

 of Spain in favour of Isaliella, daughter of Philip II., who married 

 Albert, son of the emperor of Germany. Ghent was taken by Louis 

 XIV. in lfi78, after a siege of six days. The city was occupied by 

 Marlborough in 1706. In 1745 Louis XV. having entered Flanders 

 with Marshal Saxe at the head of 1 00,000 men, took Ghent by surprise, 

 but the country soon again came into possession of Austria. In 

 1792 the Netherlands fell under the power of France, and Ghent 

 was constituted the capital of the department of the Scheldc, and 

 so continued till the downfall of Napoleon in 1814, when Flanders 

 I became part of the kingdom of the Netherl.inds. In 1 SI 4 the treaty 

 I of peace was signed here between Great Britain and the United States 

 of North America, which put an end to the war between the two 

 countries. On the return of Napoleon from Elba in 1815, Louis XVIII. 

 took refuge in Ghent. In consequence of the revolution of 1830 

 Ghent, with the rest of Flanders, was comprised in the new kingdom 

 of Belgium. 



Ghent is a handsome well-built city. It contains numerous squares, 

 wide handsome streets, a large number of turret- or steeple-crowned 

 churches, and many large and imposing public buildings. The tall, 

 elegant, column-shaped chimneys which rise from above 60 cotton- 

 mills, contribute their quota to the imposing appearance of the town, 

 and indicate the existence of great industrial activity still within its 

 walls. The houses In general are picturesque objects, their gable-ends 

 rising like steps in every fantastic variety, and ornamented with scrolls 

 and dlrving. The city is surrounded by walls about 8 miles in circuit 

 and pierced by seven gate entrances, some of which date from the 

 nth century, and are interesting for their architecture; the Antwerp 

 gate is the most admired. 

 I There are several fine promenades in the interior of the city. The 



finest is on the bank of the Coupure Canal, which connects the river 

 Lys with the Bruges Canal. It is planted with three rows of large 

 trees, and is much frequented in spring and autumn. The Houlevarcls 

 which surround the city are also much used aa public walks. The 

 Vrijdags Markt (Friday Market) is a large square space in which 

 meetings of the citizens were formerly held, and where criminals are 

 Pipcuted. In the centre of the square the citiitenH erected, in 16C0, 

 a column 50 feet high to the memory of Charles V. This column 

 was surmounted by a statue of the emperor ; it was restored in 1772, 

 and taken down during the revolutionary troubles of 1793. In the 

 Place St-Phariiilde, near the fish-market, stands an old turrotcd 



gateway, which is a relic of the castle built here by Baudouin Bras- 

 de-Fer, count of Flanders, in a.b. 868. The castle of which this 

 relic formed a part was for some time (in 133S-9) the residence of 

 Edward III. of England and his family ; and here Queen Philippa 

 gave birth to a sou, who, from his birthplace, was called John of 

 Gaunt. The site of the castle is now covered with mean buildings. 

 The relic above mentioned is built into the walls of a cotton factory. 



The cathedral church of St. Bavon (St-Rvefs), a fine gothio edifice, 

 was consecrated in 9il. Its rebuilding was undertaken in 1228, but 

 was not entirely finished until the begiuuiug of the 16th century. It 

 was formerly dedicated to St. John, and took the name of St. Bavon 

 in 1540, when Charles V. caused the collegiate chapter of the abbey 

 of St. Bavon to be removed to it ; twenty years afterwards the church 

 was constituted a cathedral. The tower is remarkable both for its 

 elegance and its height, which is 271 feet. The high altar is adorned 

 with a statue of St. Bavon, in his ducal dress, by Verbruggen. lu 

 front of it are four tall copper candlesticks, which belonged to 

 Charles I., and still bear the arms of England. Ou each side of the 

 choir are handsome monuments and statues of four bishops of Ghent. 

 The twenty-four chapels in this cathedi-al contain some paintings of 

 first-rate excellence. One of these pictures, a master-piece of Rubens, 

 represents the reception of St. Bavon into the abbey of St. Amand, 

 after having distributed his goods among the poor. The Adoration 

 of the Spotle.s3 Lamb, the joint production of Hubert and John van 

 Eyck, is perhaps the finest work of the early Flemish school; it 

 contains above 300 heads, all finished with the most scrupulous 

 minuteness. The beauty and grace of the countenance of the 

 Blessed Virgin in this picture are only surpassed in the productions 

 of Raffaelle. This wonderful picture, which dates from 1432, is in 

 the sixth chapel beyond the trausept, on the right hand, as you go 

 round the choir. The church of St. Michael, situated in the centre 

 of the city, on the bank of the Lys, is built in a light and delicate 

 style of architecture. It contains the only picture by Vandyok which 

 is possessed by the city of Ghent ; the subject is the Crucifixion, but 

 the painting has been much injui-ed by cleaning. The pulpit of 

 carved mahogany, with a bas-relief of the Ascension, deserves notice. 

 The pariah church of St. James also contains several good paintings. 

 There are many other churches within the city, several of them very 

 ancient, and many among them contain paintings and sculptures of 

 considerable merit. St. Nicholas's church is the oldest in Ghent. 

 The only Protestant place of worship in Ghent is the English church 

 on the Braband Dam. 



The University of Ghent, an institution founded by royal ordon- 

 nance in 4816, stands on the banks of the Lys. The first stone of 

 the building was laid in August 1819, and it was finished with great 

 rapidity. The fa9ade presents an ootostyle portico of the Corinthian 

 order, copied from the Pantheon in Rome. The building is lai'ge and 

 commodious, and is well furnished with philosophical apparatus and 

 specimens of natural history. The library contains about 60,000 

 volumes, besides numerous valuable manuscripts taken from sup- 

 pressed abbeys and convents. This library is open to the public 

 every day except Sunday. The number of students who attended 

 the University in 1850 was 350. The Royal College of Ghent occu- 

 pies the greater part of the ancient abbey of Bauileloo, a vast and 

 very commodious building, in which several of the students, num- 

 bering from one to two hundred, as well as the professors, reside. 

 The Royal Academy of drawing, painting, and architecture occupies 

 the former Augustinian College. The students who avail themselves of 

 the advantages offered by this institution are very numerous. Tho 

 studies comprise drawing, geometry, arithmetic, perspective, and 

 anatomy, as applied to sculpture aud paiuting. The collection of 

 statues in the academy is considered to be valuable. There is also an 

 extensive gallery of paintings taken from the suppressed abbeys and 

 convents in 1795. 



The Befl'roi, or Belfry Tower, which originally served as a watch- 

 tower, and contained the tocsin-bell, dates from a.d. 1181. The gilt 

 dragon on the top of it was brought from Bruges in 1332 as a trophy 

 of the conq\iest of that town by the men of Ghent, under Philip 

 van Artevelde. It was originally brought from Constantinople by 

 the men of Bruges, who went on the first crusade with Count 

 Baudouiu of Flanders. The view from the top of this tower is vciy 

 fine. Near the Beffroi is the town-hall, a striking building with two 

 fa^des, one built in 1482, the other in 1020 ; the former in the florid 

 gothio style ; the latter, facing the butter-market, is in a mixed style, 

 columns of three difterent orders appearing one above another. Tha 

 Pacification of Ghent was signed in this building. 



The Bdguinage, a quarter inhabited by tho Beguine nuns, deserves 

 notice. It is of great extent, surrounded by a wall and ditch which 

 inclose streets and squares. The sistei-s live in small communities in 

 separate houses, the doors of which are inscribed with the uanies of 

 saints ; they are bound by no vow, and may return to the world if 

 they please ; they attend to the sick within their inclosure, and are 

 constantly seen in the hospital. They wear black robes with white 

 veils ; and the whole sisterhood, numbering above 600, may be seen 

 ot the different services of the church. 



Among other noticeable objects in Ghent may be named the new 

 Casino, near the Coupure Canal ; the Kauter, or Place d'Armes, which 

 is planted with trees aud sun-ounded with large buildings; the Miiison 



