GHENT CIVITAS

Ghent has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

Ghent is one of the most ancient cities of the history of European integration, signed in great part by Christianity. It was a settlement during the La tène culture age by the local Celts tribe at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and probably its older name come from the Celtic word Ganda which means confluence. When Romans conquered the region at the end of the campaign of Julius Caesar, the Ghent gau continued to be inhabited and was included in the Roman Respublica: within the reform of Augustus (see Roman Empire) the site entered the Gallia Belgica province, while with the reform of Constantine I (see Christian Empire) Ghent was part of the Galliarum Diocesi even if there are no roman acts regarding it.

Probably that is the reason why the Flemish replaced both Celtic and Latin language when the Franks invaded the Gallia territories at end of the IV century A.D. and included into the Regna Austrasia ruled by the Merovingian dinasty: then around 650 A.D., Saint Amand founded 2 abbeys in Ghent: St. Peter's (Blandinium) and St. Bavo's Abbey and Emperor Louis 'said the pious', son of Charlemagne, appointed Einhard (his biographer) abbot of both abbeys, so that the civitas grew from several nuclei, the abbeys and a commercial centre: with the 843 A.D. Treaty of Verdun Ghent was included into the Regna Lotharingia (Lower Lorraine). However, at the end of IX century A.D. the city was plundered by Vikings, so the Carolingian family established the County of Flandres and enfeoffed to the Morini dinasty with capital in Ghent.

Under the protection of the Counts of Flanders, Ghent recovered and flourished from the XI century A.D. as small city-state that during the Reich Empire epoch became the biggest city in Europe north of the Alps after Paris, whose skyline was famous for the towers of the St. Bavo's Cathedral and St. Nicholas' Church. Ghent had been founded in an area where much land was periodically flooded by the two rivers so that the rich grass meersen ('water-meadows': a word related to the English marsh) were disfruted for grazing sheep, the wool of which was used to make cloth: it happened along the Middle Ages that Ghent became the leading European centre for manufacturing cloths and wool was exported to Scotland and England, pushing the city to build a great port on the Channel. In that period Ghent was eleved as 'Free Town of Empire' and attracted the interests of the english and frech ruling dinasties, especially when Flandres were joined to the Flanders&Burgundy Duchy under rule of the Borgognoni dinasty and was involved in the Hunderd's years war: cause of it, in late XVI century A.D. Ghent lost importance, resulting an extremely well-preserved historic centre and a popular tourist destination, while the centre of political and social of 'Low Countries' started to shift towards Brabant (Antwerp–Brussels).

When the duchy passed to House of Habsburg (1477 A.D.) Ghent became their redidential seat to rule Flanders but several revolts began against the Emperor Maximilian I and Philippe II king of Spain: as a consequence, St. Bavo's Abbey was abolished, torn down and replaced with a fortress for Royal Spanish troops who controlled the Spanish/Austrian Netherlands Province until the Napeleon epoch. But the situation of the city got worse all along the 16th and 17th centuries cause of war devastations of the French forces, ended only with the Congress of Wien (1815 A.D.): then Ghent's textile industry flourished again together with the industrial and factory machine coming out from England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, introducing the mechanical weaving machines on the European continent. After the Battle of Waterloo, Ghent and Flanders entered the United Kingdom of Netherlands with the northern Dutch for 15 years and Ghent could establish its own university and a new connection to the sea.

After the Belgian Revolution caused by religious differences with Netherlands, that brought to the foundation of Belgium and the loss of access to the sea for more than a decade, the local economy collapsed and the first Belgian trade union originated in Ghent. The city hosted a world exhibition in 1913 A.D. and as a preparation for that event the Saint-Pieters railway station was completed. But the occupation by the Germans in both the world wars brough severe destructions, restored only in late XX century A.D. when Ghent became the capital of the province of East Flanders and a main European touristic destination. What to see in Ghent? The Belfry of Ghent is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Graslei harbour in the old city centre, the Royal Dutch Theatre, the Gravensteen castle and the historical city centre. Much of the city's medieval architecture remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored and Ghent centre is a carfree area sourrounding the St. Bavo's Cathedral with the Ghent Altarpiece, a 15th-century painting by Van Eyck bros.. Important to visit in Ghent are the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Museum of Fine Arts), the SMAK (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, City Museum for Contemporary Art) and the Design Museum Gent with masterpieces of Victor Horta and Le Corbusier. The city is host to some big cultural events such as the Ghent Festival, the International Film Festival of Ghent and the Festival van Vlaanderen. Also, every five years, an extensive botanical exhibition (Gentse Floraliën) takes place in Flanders Expo in Ghent, attracting numerous visitors to the city. Patron is Saint Bavo, a catholic knight converted to monk who an abbey in Ghent became its Cathedral where he is buried.

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