How many stops are on the History walking tour in Ghent?

The History route in Ghent includes 10 curated stops.

How long does the History tour in Ghent take?

The History walking tour in Ghent takes approximately 5 hours at a leisurely pace.

Is the History walking tour in Ghent free?

Yes, Promenario's History tour in Ghent is free to download and use, with full offline support.

🇧🇪 Ghent, Belgium

History in Ghent

Historic districts, heritage sites, and origin stories. Explore 10 curated stops in Ghent, including Gravensteen Castle, Belfort (The Belfry of Ghent), and Wheat Market (Korenmarkt). Highlights include Wheat Market (Korenmarkt), rated 4.7/5 by 380 visitors.

10 stops ~5h Available in app

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10 places in this collection

History places

10 places in this collection

Image by Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer), CC BY 4.0

Gravensteen Castle

The Gravensteen (Dutch; literally 'Castle of the Counts') is a medieval castle at Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium. The current castle dates to 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. It was subsequently re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even as a cotton factory. It was restored over 1893 - 1903 and is now a museum and a major landmark in the city. Built by Count Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders, soon after he returned from the Crusades with images of similar crusader castles in the Holy Land. If its walls (2m thick), battlements, and turrets failed to intimidate attackers, the count could always turn to a well-equipped torture chamber inside. You can view relics of the chamber in a small museum in the castle. Climb up to the ramparts of the high central building, the donjon, which has great views of Ghent's rooftops and towers.

Image by Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer), CC BY 4.0

Belfort (The Belfry of Ghent)

The 91-metre-tall belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Its height makes it the tallest belfry in Belgium. The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Through the centuries, the belfry served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower and the place where the documents evidencing the municipal privileges were kept. The primary bell in the tower, called Roland, was also used to warn the citizens of Ghent of an approaching enemy or a battle won. The Belfry was a symbol of the city's autonomy, begun in 1313 and completed in 1380. This municipal tower holds the great bells that have rung out Ghent's civic pride through the centuries. Take the elevator to the Belfry's upper gallery, 66m high, to see the bells and take in fantastic panoramic views of the city. The Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle) dates from 1425 and was the gathering place of wool and cloth merchants. The Cloth Hall is free to visit.

Image by Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0

Wheat Market (Korenmarkt)

Korenmarkt (English: Wheat Market) is a city square in the historic center of Ghent. Located between the Leieriver and St. Nicholas' Church, it is one of the city's most important and famous tourist locations. The square is surrounded with several historic buildings, which today house bars, restaurants and terraces. It is a pivotal location of the annual Gentse Feesten cultural festival. The square's name is derived from the cereal trade which dates back to the 10th/11th century when Ghent was the center of the cereal trade in the County of Flanders. Cereal that was brought into the city via the nearby Graslei and Korenlei by the Leie river, was sold on the market place

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Image by Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY-SA 2.0

Saint Nicholas' Church (Sint-Niklaaskerk)

St. Nicholas' Church is one of the oldest and most prominent landmarks in Ghent. Begun in the early 13th century as a replacement for an earlier Romanesque church, construction continued through the rest of the century in the local Scheldt Gothic style (named after the nearby river). Typical of this style is the use of blue-gray stone from the Tournai area, the single large tower above the crossing, and the slender turrets at the building's corners. Built in the old trade center of Ghent next to the bustling Korenmarkt (Wheat Market), St. Nicholas' Church was popular with the guilds whose members carried out their business nearby. The guilds had their own chapels which were added to the sides of the church in the 14th and 15th centuries. The central tower, which was funded in part by the city, served as an observation post and carried the town bells until the neighboring belfry of Ghent was built. These two towers, along with the Saint Bavo Cathedral, still define the famous medieval skyline of the city center. One of the treasures of the church is its organ, produced by the famous French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The organ in the Saint Nicholas' Church, Ghent, is one of the most important romantic organs of Belgium. It was built by the famous French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.

Image by rene boulay, CC BY-SA 3.0

The House of Alijn

The Huis van Alijn (Dutch for: Alijn Hospital, literally House of Alijn) is a museum located on the Kraanlei in Ghent. The House of Alijn displays cultural artifacts of Flemish recent and not so recent past. The visitor attains more insight into Flemish heritage by looking at old photograph albums, jewelry, old toys and so on. These objects reveal the spirit of the times as well as ways and customs and they remind us of the days in the past. Learn how people used to live around Ghent.

Image by [Author Name], CC BY-SA 4.0

Saint Michael's Church

Saint Michael's Church (Dutch: Sint-Michielskerk) is a Roman Catholic church in Ghent, built in a late Gothic style. It has rich interior decoration. The exterior of the sober late Gothic church is entirely constructed with sandstone from Brussels and Ledian sandstone. The church has a rich Neo-Gothic interior, including an altar and a pulpit in that style. There are various 18th century statues, including a Saint Livinus by Laurent Delvaux, a wooden St. Sebastian by J. Franciscus Allaert, eight marble statues of saints and a copy of Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges by Rombaut Pauwels. The church contains many Baroque paintings, including Christ Dying on the Cross by Anthony van Dyck, the Resurrection of Lazarus by Otto Venius and paintings by Gaspar de Crayer, Philippe de Champaigne, Karel van Mander, Jan Boeckhorst, Antoon van den Heuvel, Theodoor van Thulden and others. There are confessionals from various style periods including a Baroque confessional from the early 17th century by François Cruyt with statues sculpted by Michiel van der Voort. Organ: The organ dates back to an instrument that was built in 1817 by the organ builder De Volder. The style of the front is fully made in gothic revival. In 1951 the instrument was remodeled and expanded by the organ builder Anneessens. The organ has 47 stops on three manuals and a pedal. Church Treasure: There are numerous silver and gold artefacts in the silver collection. An important item is the relic of St Dorothea, in silver. Very famous is the relic of the sacred 'Doorn' brought to the church by Mary, Queen of Scots, and a relic of the true Cross a gift of the Archduke Albrecht and Isabella in 1619.

Image by Vitaly Volkov, CC BY 2.5

Patershol Quarter

14th century quarter called 'Patershol', near the Castle. This cosy, picturesque neighbourhood is hidden in the shadow of the glorious Castle of the Counts. The pattern of streets has been the same since medieval times and is worth a visit. This area is pedestrian-friendly (no cars allowed), so it is the ideal place to have a walk. Although it seems like a tiny place, there are currently 500 families living there, among them a lot of artists, such as the Belgian-Argentinian painter Cecilia Jaime. Furthermore, this entourage is home to some specialist shops and art galleries, and houses some good restaurants.

Image by Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0

Friday Market Square (Vrijdagmarkt)

Vrijdagmarkt (English: Friday Market) is a city square in the historic center of Ghent. It is named after the weekly tradition to stage a market every Friday morning. As one of the oldest squares in Ghent, it played an important role in the city's history. With its dimensions of roughly 100 by 100 m, it is one of the largest public squares in Ghent. Every Friday morning the square is filled with market stalls; a tradition dating back to 1199. The centerpiece of the plaza is the statue of Jacob van Artevelde, Ghent's wise man who sided with England during the Hundred Years' War and was murdered on the site in 1345. The place is surrounded with guildhalls, which currently house bars, restaurants and terraces. In the northerly corner there are two monumental art nouveau buildings of the socialist movement, built at the turn of the 20th century, which currently house the socialist health insurance federation and the Socialist National Trade Union Federation.

Image by Rosser1954, CC BY-SA 3.0

Dulle Griet (Mad Meg)

The Dulle Griet ('Mad Meg', named after the Flemish folklore figure Dull Gret) is a medieval supergun founded in Mons (Bergen). Three cannons were founded: one resides now in Edinburgh and is called 'Mons Meg', and the last one was in France but has since been lost. The wrought-iron bombard was constructed in the first half of the 15th century from 32 longitudinal bars enclosed by 61 rings. In 1452, the bombard was employed by the city of Ghent in the siege of Oudenaarde, but fell into the hands of the defenders on the retreat and was only returned to Ghent in 1578. Today, the bombard is set up close to the Friday Market square in the old town. Besides the Dulle Griet, a number of 15th-century European superguns are known to have been employed primarily in siege warfare, including the wrought-iron Pumhart von Steyr and Mons Meg as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette, Faule Grete and Grose Bochse.

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Vooruit

With its strong socialist tradition, Ghent is laden with historic buildings testifying to power of the social-democratic movement. The cooperative 'Vooruit' (Progress) was running shops, bakeries, a newspaper, a cinema and a cultural centre for the labour movement. Some of the buildings are exquisite examples of late 19th/early 20th century art nouveau and art deco. Main examples can be found on Vrijdagsmarkt (the headquarter 'Ons Huis' - Our House - still in use today by the trade union) and the Kunstencentrum Vooruit on Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat, cultural temple of the labour movement and today in use as an Arts Centre and concert hall. Vooruit was designed by Ferdinand Dierkens and built between 1911 and 1914 and became a symbol of the socialist movement in the interwar period. The building is named after the socialist consumer organization (or cooperative) Vooruit ('Forward' (1891-1970), supported by Edward Anseele, to protect workers against the instability of capitalism. There workers could eat, drink and enjoy culture at affordable costs.

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