A day in the flower city of Belgium

It was a memorable trip to a small city of Belgium called Ghent. Well by the European standards, it is the fourth largest city in the country with about 2.5 lacs inhabitants. The city is not as big as Antwerp but bigger than Bruges showcasing the great medieval power in its awesome architectural affluence. The city proudly flaunts younger people most of them students at the Belgian State University. I took a morning train from Brussels which took about two hours to reach Ghent main railway station. My friend a research scholar at the Ghent University had come to the station and we took a walking tour through the city watching people, places, impressive monuments and of course beautiful gothic buildings.


You cannot miss the awesome cathedral with its mighty uprising tower named after Saint Bavo, a 7th century local nobleman who became a saint after he had given away his property to the poor and entered the monastery. Behind the Saint Bavo Cathedral one can see the ‘Geeraard de Duivel Steen’, or the castle of Gerald the Devil. This little castle was one of the first houses to be build in stone. According to a long-living legend, a man lived here who was called Gerald. He was nicknamed 'the devil' because he married five times. Each time, however, he killed his wife to marry another one. Hence, the devil! It is now used by the city administration of Ghent for storage of the archives. The other spectacular thing is the castle of the counts called Gravensteen. Around the year 1000, the first stone castle must have been erected here. Parts of this, such as the chimney and the fireplace, can still be found in the walls of the lower floors of the main tower. Right in the heart of Ghent stands the Saint Nicholas church, one of the oldest churches of the city. Another thing that is very special is the Belfry tower which functioned as treasury and watch tower. The tower was completed in 1338, when the bells were rung for the English king Edward II. There were always four soldiers on guard on top of the tower and every hour, they had to blow their horns as a sign that the city was still being guarded.

Right in the center of town lies the Saint Michael's bridge where you can admire the architectural richness of Ghent. On the right side stands the medieval St.Michael's church. From here you also have the best view over the famous panorama of the three towers. We spent the evening along the old harbour of Ghent right in the middle of the city sipping coffee. Graslei and the Koornlei are the names of two streets which lie alongside the Leie River. The Graslei is one of the most scenic places in Ghent's old city centre. Some of the most beautiful medieval houses in Belgium can be spotted from here. And finally, it was time to wrap up to get back to Brussels for the European Parliament visit next day. I took the evening train and could not stop myself silently praising the beauty and coziness of the city I had just left!