Ghent is a city that holds you back and from which you end up reluctantly moving away, fascinated by its vitality and seduced by the beauty of its historic center. There are few things more impressive than seeing the night fall from the ancients Graslei and Korenlei docks As the St. Michael's Bridge, the old post office or the imposing stepped façade of the grain warehouse are drawn over the waters of the Lys thanks to the careful lighting of the buildings. The flamenco city overflows with visitor curiosity, not only before the amazing Mystical Lamb the Van Eyck, but also from the top of the castle of the counts of Flanders, stepping on the history of its evocator Prinsenhof, chasing shadows through the maze of alleys of Patershol or tasting a beer in the legendary Vrijdagmarkt.
It's a city you end up reluctantly moving away from., fascinated by its vitality and the beauty of its historic center
But the main merit of Ghent, that the traveler perceives as soon as he accumulates a few hours of walking on his feet, is to have overcome the temptation to become absorbed in its rich medieval past, languishing petrified in the meanders of its history. Far from that unhealthy complacency, bustles with its lively cultural and university life, perfect complement to a heritage beauty under which the soul of the city is always at risk of dying by being crushed. Perhaps it is this constant threat that always keeps the people of Ghent alert., with a reputation for tenacity similar to that of the Aragonese in Spain, forcing them to always reinvent themselves so as not to give up, gaping at the flash of the splendor of their medieval past.. Anyway, The hometown of Charles V is full of arguments to establish itself as one of the most interesting cities in Europe.
Ghent's main merit is having overcome the temptation to become absorbed in its rich medieval past
I was thinking about that vigor of the city while we had lunch in the brasserie Pakhuis, an old warehouse converted into a restaurant, with the haste of someone who knows he has to get on a train in a couple of hours without even giving Ghent the opportunity to show off its evening finery. It had to be avoided, turning our backs once again on Cartesian pre-prepared travel plans from a distance. And so it was. An hour later we were walking among enormous yellow willows through Sint-Antoniuskaai, on the banks of the Lys, relieved by the decision to delay getting on that train that, like almost everyone, can always wait. Ghent had already left its mark on us. Winter suits the city very well. In the Saint Bavo Cathedral There was no need to crowd to admire what is perhaps the most famous polyptych in history, the altarpiece commissioned by mayor Joos Vijde from Hubert van Eyck to decorate his funeral chapel (where today, in reparation, looks like a photographic replica).
We had to avoid taking the train, turning our backs once again on Cartesian pre-prepared travel plans from a distance
The eventful life of this masterpiece that has survived the French revolutionaries and the Nazis, to fires and even "captivity" in an Austrian salt mine during World War II, still has one last line to write. In April 1934 two of its panels were stolen from the cathedral. A (that of Saint John the Baptist) was recovered, but from the other (the just judges) was never known again. The table that is exhibited today was painted in the 20th century using one of them as a model, paradoxically, al rey Leopoldo II, the plunderer of the Congo, so far from the image of a fair judge. Behind the cathedral, in the Vrijdagmarkt, Its lively market does not suggest that this central square was, until the first quarter of the 19th century, scene of executions and autos-da-fe. To chase away that tormented memory, nothing better than a beer at “Dulle Griet” (Crazy Margaret), a temple of this national drink where, as have, Charles V hid an illegitimate daughter.
To chase away the tormented memory of the Vrijdagmarkt, there is nothing better than a beer at “Dulle Griet” (Crazy Margaret)
In addition to the "Dulle Griet", You shouldn't leave Ghent without buying mustard, that the shop assistants serve as a big barrel, and Tierenteyn-Verlent (Vegetable market 3, next to the castle of the counts of Flanders), sin curiosear and Huis Temmerman (Faucet guide 79), an artisanal candy store with packed shelves, and without entering the old Meat Market (Vegetable market 7), unmistakable by the agglomeration of smoked hams hanging from the ceiling to dry, a good place to take a bottle of roomer (so elegant that they can later be converted into a vase), the local elderflower liqueur. Nor should you miss the opportunity to buy the city's characteristic sweets at a street market.: Ghent noses (literally noses of Ghent, in this case raspberry), matt cakes (a marzipan cake) y mastellen (cinnamon donuts). Close, in Veerle Plein, the crier of Ghent, dressed in his period costume, announces the opening of the Christmas markets, a traditional image that shatters as soon as its organ begins to spread the chords of the bird dance. In the same square, where shop windows flaunt dozens of beer bottles, which one is more appetizing, a streetlight can go unnoticed by outsiders, although it contains a curious tradition: It is the one that parents turn on when they have just had a child..
You shouldn't leave Ghent without buying mustard in Tierenteyn-Verlent or browsing the traditional Huis Temmerman
It is advisable to enter the neighborhood castle of the counts of Flanders, one of the few medieval ones left in all of Flanders, if only to raise the 127 steps of its keep or walk, with a fist in the mouth, his collection of torture instruments. From the top of the fortification, The views of the historic center are magnificent. The castle has a curious anecdote behind it: in 1949 It was briefly occupied by students at dusk to peacefully protest the rise in beer prices.. I can think of few more just demands..
The students took into 1949 the castle of the counts of Flanders to protest the rise in beer prices. Few more just demands
But if there is an essential postcard in Ghent, it is the extremely photographed panoramic view of the three most representative towers of the city.: those of the church of San Nicolás, the municipal Belfort and the cathedral of Saint Bavo, a perfect frame from the medieval St. Michael's Bridge. From right here, to our left appears, at the end of the Graslei and Korenlei piers, the facade of the restored Fish Market. It is in this place, If you can choose, where we must let ourselves be surprised at night to enjoy, walking along the banks of the Lys, of an absolutely magical Ghent, that dresses its historic buildings with lights and immerses you in an atmosphere of another time that is difficult to escape. Only the gigantic Christmas Ferris wheel that appears behind the St. Nicholas Church rescues us from that medieval reverie from which it should be forbidden to flee before nightfall.
