Today I thought I would visit the city of Ghent, which is about 30 minutes away on the bike. A little bit of countryside, a blast down the motorway and then into the city. I’ve found that in the counryside and towns the roads are great, but the motorway isnt very good at all. A very rough surface with lots of skimming and patching, and the Belgian drivers are a breed to themselves. They also tend to tailgate more than the Germans.
Anyway, the weather today was a sunny 18 degrees, with a clear blue sky and warm enough for your to break into a sweat if you stayed in the sun too long. I had set my GPS to get me to a car park as close as possible to the old town, and as I neared the center you had to keep your wits about you. The roads are quite narrow, mainly cobbled and they also have tracks for the trams. To compund matters, there is an army of cyclists who come at you from all directions, and as the cyclist has right of way – you have to be prepared to give way or stop when one decides to cross in front of you without even a glance.
I got to my car park and as the barrier was only short, I squeezed my bike in and tucked it away in the corner near the bicycles without getting a ticket. Well, it’d be rude not to…. The Old Town was only five minutes walk, and walk I certainly did. Ghent is a very busy and bustling city with a very busy city centre. Its also a University city so it’s also full of cycling students wearing headphones and oblivious to the world around them.
The center is very old with many of its original buildings. During the middle ages Ghent was a very prosperous trading centre and this shows with the many fine old buildings around the centre, some dating back to the 1700’s. There is very much a Dutch influence of architecture here. There is a canal also running through the centre, with boat trips running up and down. In the main square, which was huge, there were eateries all around the periphery with thoudands of people sat in the autumn sunshine eating and drinking.
After walking around for a few hours I visited the ‘Stone Castle of the Count’ – Gravensteen. Built in the in 1180 it was the home of Count Philip, Count of Flanders and of Vermandois, who on his return from the crusades wanted a castle that would impress. Once complete it became the centre for administration and justice, and in the basement there is a prison and a torture chamber where confessions would be made, and then one floor up a large hall where executions would take place. It wasnt all bad though, because Count Phillip brought stability to the area and he was known to be quite forgiving – except when he caught his wife having an affair. The errant Knight was hung over the cesspit and then after being dunked a few times, Count Phillip strangled him. Count Phillip’s hobby was also jousting, and in the castle there was a display of armour and weapons.
The castle remained a center for justice for many years but in the 18th century the court of justice moved out and the castle was unused, so it was sold to a merchant who turned it into a textile factory, and then at the end of the 1800’s the textiles moved out of the city and in 1907 the castle opened its doors as a visitor attraction and had remained an attraction ever since. The entry fee was 12eu and it was well worth the fee because you get to visit all parts of the castle, including the roof and battlements, as well as a humerous audio-guide to tell you stories about the castle’s history. If you are visiting Ghent, please visit the castle because its well worth the visit.
And then it was back on the road to beat the tea-time traffic and back to my campsite. I’ve another day here so tomorrow I may go to Lille and then Tournai for a little more architecture.
