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Flanders 2023

We've been in Belgium in September 2023 for ten very enjoyable and instructive days spent in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of this country.

After three days on the coast to visit Bruges, we based ourselves in Dendermonde and explored the cities of Ghent and Antwerp plus a day trip to Brussels.

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Path: Photos > Ghent: the City and its Museums
Tags: Belgium  2023  News  Museum

Ghent: the City and its Museums

 

(vero;2023-Oct-07)

Although the skies were a bit grey, we had a good time strolling through Ghent. As expected, we did not miss the MSK (Museum of Fine Arts, see our photo gallery dedicated to it) but we have also great memories of the City Museum (STAM) and the Industry Museum which gave us a good insight into Ghent's past and the way it shaped the city it has become today. For something completely different, we visited also the Alijn Huis, a museum of daily life in the 20th and 21st centuries. It was showing an exhibition about the 1990s just as we were there, a period during which we were young adults and which we remember fondly: it was quite fun to go back in time.

Below are two further galleries with:

We also have a blog entry with some tips and practicalities if you ever plan to visit Ghent.

Views of the city
Houses along Korenlei, the quay lining the left bank of the river Leie (Lys in French) before it flows into the river Scheldt (Escaut in French).
The tower of the Belfry looming behind the medieval front of Graslei, the quay lining the right bank of the river Leie. St Michael Bridge and Church on the right. Another view of Graslei, the quay lining the right bank of the river Leie. Close-up of the medieval facades of Graslei. A house on Graslei and the tower of the Belfry. Again. Graslei seen from Saint Michael Bridge with the building of the Old Post on the right and the tower of the Belfry in the background. Some street-art à la Ghent with a reference to the Admiration of the Lamb… Saint Michael Church seen from the eponymous bridge. There is a graffiti street in Ghent, which we found quite disappointing. There are far better murals scattered around town. Facade of the Arts Center Vooruit. Vooruit ("Forward") was a socialist cooperative (built 1911-1914) established to help and support workers against the hardships of capitalism. Besides some restaurants and bars, it included a ballroom, a cinema and a theatre providing culture at a price affordable for all. The skyline of Ghent seen from the roof-top of the Industry Museum. The Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market Place), one of the largest squares in Ghent where a market is still held every Friday. The two Art-Nouveau buildings on this picture are located in its northerly corner and were built at the turn of the 20th century by the socialist worker movement. They are still housing some socialist organisations: the socialist health insurance federation and the General Labour Federation of Belgium. The Vrijdagmarkt framed by the houses of the guildhalls of medieval corporations. The statue of Jacob van Artevelde (1290-1345), a Flemish statesman and political leader of the middle ages occupies the centre of the square. The church in the background is Sint Jacob and the house with the tower on the right was the furrier's guildhall. Adorned facade on Kraanlei. The Rabot, a medieval water gate in the Prinsenhof district. A mural somewhere in the city. Gravensteen, the castle of the Counts of Flanders, bang in the middle of town. Another view of Gravensteen. A striking mural in the city centre. And another one. Moscou is a densely populated neighbourhood in the south of town, which owes its name to the presence of the Russian army in 1814-1815 in this area (Napoleonic Wars). It is also a tram stop. Stadhuis, the City Hall, a mix of architectural styles. The facade on the side of Hoogpoort (right) is early sixteenth century flamboyant Gothic style while the facade in Botermarkt (left) is clearly Renaissance with columns and pilasters reminiscent of Italian palaces. The tower of the Belfry on the right and the building of the old Post Office at the corner of Graslei and Sint-Michielshelling. Inside St Nicholas Church, one of the oldest and most prominent landmarks in town (13th century). Inside St Nicholas Church. Facade of a Guildhall opposite St Nicholas Church. NTGent, the city theater of the future. Inside Sint Bavo's Cathedral, home to the famous Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by the Van Eyck brothers (known as the Ghent Altarpiece). Sint Bavo's Cathedral. Sint Bavo's Cathedral. Alas the choir and side chapels are now only accessible to visitors having purchased a ticket to see the Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers. A colourful altar in Sint Bavo's Cathedral. Sculpture honoring the Van Eyck brothers in a square behind Sint Bavo's Cathedral. The inner courtyard of St Peter's Abbey, now a cultural centre hosting exhibitions and seminars. Ceiling of the old refectory in St Peter's Abbey.

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Some exhibits of the city's museums

If you want to know more, the links below give access to the websites of the museums featured in this gallery. Also, don't forget to check our gallery dedicated to the MSK Museum of Fine Arts.

Huis van Alijn: Museum of Daily Life STAM: Ghent's City Museum The Industry Museum dedicated to the Textile and Printing Industries

Huis van Alijn: this museum is set inside a former almshouse and explores day-to-day life in the 20th and 21st centuries. The objects displayed are shown by decade and season, marking the passing of time: old toys, old brands long gone, household goods from a not so distant time which we know from our grand parents or our own experience and foremost all those devices and gadgets documenting the rapid evolution of technology since the 1980s and their impact on our lives today. This picture shows a poster for the 1958 Exposition Universelle in Brussels.
Huis van Alijn: Ghent has a strong puppetry tradition and Pierke is its main character. He wears a white suit adorned with red stripes, and a top hat with three red pompons, a costume which is very similar to that of Pedrolino, one of the servants in the Italian Commedia dell'Arte. Pierke has two friends: Karelke den Bult (Charles the Humpback) and Louis de Lapkesdief (Louis the rag thief), both also inherited from the Commedia. Every week during winter, Pierke appears in four puppet theatres across Ghent, in performances geared specifically towards children. There is also a version for adults: Pierke Pierlala, a sort of stand-up comedian, a sympathetic anarchist who comments on important events in the city. Huis van Alijn: back to the 1960s! Huis van Alijn was showing an exhibition about the 1990s just as we were there, a period during which we were young adults and which we remember fondly: it was quite fun to go back in time and realise what progress technology has done since then (and remember all the music hits of the time)… STAM: the City Museum. One of the highlights is the first room where the floor is featuring a huge picture of Ghent and its suburbs seen from above (300 m2 large) on which visitors can walk (with overshoes to protect it), kneel and explore the city. It is amazing and really sharp, crisp and clean and we had much fun retracing our steps or looking for a certain building or monument we had come across while strolling through the city. STAM: close-up of the aerial picture of Ghent shown on the floor of the first room. St Michael Church is in the top right corner, the big church in the upper half is St Nicholas. STAM: medieval sculpture taken from a former church and preserved in the museum. STAM: medieval Adam and the apple. STAM: medieval parchment. STAM: the museum is located on the grounds and in parts of the 14th century Bijloke abbey, now a cultural and administrative centre. This picture shows one of the murals painted on the eastern and western inner walls of the former abbey refectory. They depict the blessing of Mary (top) and the Last Supper (bottom). STAM: detail of the Blessing of Mary mural (see previous picture). STAM: old shop sign. STAM: detail of a panoramic view of Ghent in 1534. You can spot St Bavo Cathedral in the foreground, followed by the Belfry and St Nicholas church on its left. The church on its own on the right is St Jacob (St James). Click here for a full view of the painting. STAM: this painting shows a bird's eye view of the abbey of St Bavo (in the foreground) and the city of Ghent in the background before Charles V's order in 1540 to demolish the abbey church and build the Spaniard's Castle. If you look closely, you can see a fine black line drawn around the abbey and outlining the form of the future castle. This painting dated 1701 is in fact a copy of a painting by Lucas de Heere dated 1564, 24 years after Charles V's order. Since he could no longer see the pre-1540 condition of the cityscape the painter took inspiration from a painting dated 1534 (see previous picture). Click here for a full view of the painting. STAM: painting showing St Michael Church seen from the Graslei quay. Diptych depicting Isabella of Bourbon (1434-1465) and her husband Charles the Bold (1433-1477). Isabella was the second wife of Charles the Bold. He was the worst nightmare of French King Louis XI while he tried to make Burgundy an independent kingdom fighting against France along the way. He had great success until 1474 casting off French rule, extending Burgundy's possessions and building a centralised government. Maybe he should have stopped then, but he sought to extend his territory even further, as far as the Rhine through negotiation, warfare and purchases, something that a coalition of Swiss, Austrians, and towns on the upper Rhine resisted. He was eventually defeated by the Swiss in 1476 and killed in battle near Nancy in January 1477. STAM: battle banner of the Ghent militia showing the Virgin and the Lion of Ghent, the two symbols of the city (15th century). The Virgin of Ghent was adopted by the people of Ghent to feature on the city coat of arms from the end of the 14th century. She served as a symbol for the city and the climbing lion expressed the fighting spirit of the people of Ghent. Click here for a full view of the banner. STAM: badge worn by the city bailiffs (dating 1482) showing the Virgin of Ghent seated on a throne whose curtain is held open by two knights while a lion lays its paws on her lap. The frame is late-Gothic and is surrounded by a wreath of gnarled twigs. Industry Museum: old wooden spinning machine. Industry Museum: weaving machine. Industry Museum: wooden letterpress hand press from the 18th century or older. The printing mechanism is made of wrought iron, with a platen (the flat plate that presses the paper against the type) connected by a metal stem to the screw. Industry Museum: similar letterpress hand press as in the previous picture shown with types and letter case. Industry Museum: one of the very first typesetting machines constructed by the German company Typograph, Berlin (1895). It was one of the first typesetting machines in the world but quickly disappeared from the market due to the success of the American Linotype. Industry Museum: some examples of rotary printing presses. The middle one is a cast iron stop cylinder press for relief printing, produced by F. Uytterelst in Brussels and used for large printing works. The right one is a letterpress stop cylinder press manufactured by Fonderie Ateliers Presses Typo & Lith. H. Jullien in Brussels. Industry Museum: a printer workshop, some of those machines are still in working order and you might get to see them in action if you come at the right moment.


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Go back to Bruges: Groeninge Museum or go on to Ghent: Museum of Fine Arts MSK or go up to Photos

$updated from: Photos.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:48 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$