Ghent, A City of Paradox

A couple days ago, Hope and I left Den Haag, heading for Belgium. We took trains and trains, ubers and taxis before finally arriving in Ghent.

It's a handsome city in a region referred to as Flanders. Here the people speak many languages, including a dialect of Dutch which contains a sprinkling of French, German and Spanish. Indeed Belgium is a liminal country bounded on the west by France, while Netherlands and Germany press in from the east. Luxembourg brings up the tail in the south. Historically this combination of regions was known as the Low Countries, a term that is often used in texts even to this day.

In architecture, language, food and culture, everywhere there is evidence of Dutch steadfast practicality combined with the creative elegant influence of France.

Ghent is an old city. And it is heartbreakingly beautiful. Towering cathedrals date back to the 15th century, along with some of the of the most important artistic and intellectual traditions from the Renaissance.

interior,
Sint Baafs Kathedraal
Ghent
photo courtesy of Anton Yerin

Indeed Charles V (1500 - 1558) -- who was also the father of Philip II  -- was born here in 1500. As is typical of people today in Ghent, Charles V spoke French, Dutch, German and Castilian Spanish.

Baptized in Sint Baafs Kathedraal, Charles traveled widely but viewed the Low Countries as his home.

anonymous Flemish school
Portrait of Charles as a young man
c. 1515, oil on panel
43.8 x 32.2 cm
Hampton Court Palace

Here he is depicted by an unknown painter as a young prince. His infamous lantern chin -- sometimes also referred to as the Hapsburg jaw due to generational inbreeding -- juts without censor. Perhaps the painter's honesty about his subject also explains his anonymity.

In 1516 he was known as Charles I, ruler of the Spanish empire. By 1519, upon the death of his father Maximilian I, he also become Charles V, ascending the throne as the Holy Roman Emperor of the Hapsburg dynasty, which included the Low Countries region.

Ghent began as a city for the Catholic church but over the centuries it has come to known for its creativity and challenges to authority. This may be attributed to the role of education, as Ghent University claims on the opening page of its website to be "looking for critical spirits."

Thus, with a population of about 260,000 and nearly 70,000 of those being university students, Ghent is also a very young city.

As was the case in most of the cities of The Netherlands, bikes are ubiquitous in Ghent. Young lovers ride side by side holding hands. Parents ride their children in special seats on all parts of the bike. Intrepid bicyclists ride while texting on their cell phones. There are more than 700 one-way streets in Ghent where cyclists are allowed to go against car traffic, and there are about 250 miles of cycling paths in and around the city.

Therefore Ghent is a city of paradox. It is old, yet it is young. It is steeped in orthodoxy, yet it evokes new ideas.

I, for one, am glad to have arrived.

tapestry
Sint Baafs Kathedraal