Destination: Ghent
Top Ten
1 The Ghent Altarpiece
2 Gravensteen
3 Kerkhof Campo Santo
4 Kuip van Gent
5 Patershol
6 Prinsenhof
7 St Baafskathedraal
8 St Elisabethbegijnhof
9 Stedelijk Museum voor Aktuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.)
10 Vrijdagmarkt
10 Vrijdagmarkt

The Vrijdagmarkt is an attractive place to sit at a pavement café when you simply want to take a breather.

Large squares the world over are places where demonstrations take place and the Vrijdagmarkt is no exception. On the birth of the Emperor Charles V the square was flooded and frozen forming a huge skating festival took place. This emperor later used the area to organise his book burnings, during which a great deal of Protestant and Calvinist literature went up in flames. His statue once stood here, but today a bronze of Jacob van Artevelde proclaims his Roman greeting in the middle of the Vrijdagmarkt.

It was here the guilds fought out their battles, until 1822 it was the place of execution, and since 1199 there have been market stalls in the square. Among the guild houses there is an enormous, eclectic building from 1900, Onze Huis (Our House). This is the headquarters of the socialist workers association and is frequently the place where uprisings begin.

It is worth visiting the Gothic building at number 37, the guild house of the tanners, called Het Toreken. On the edge of the square stands the Dulle Griet, both a cannon and peace monument. We have the cannonball, which at 340kg flew only a metre, to thank for this paradox. Naturally it has never won a war.



Restaurant: Several restaurants ranging from (Moderately priced) to (Expensive)
Bus: Bus 5, 16, 17, 18, 19, 50, 52, 68, 69
Accessible: Very good
COUNTRY
Belgium
REGION

CITIES
Brussels
Bruges
Ghent
  Viewing
  Top Ten
  What To See
  Where To ...
  Practical Matters
MAPS
World
Europe
TRAVEL BOOK