Day 6: Ghent: Dark Side Tour

We met Kenny, our Dark Side of Ghent tour guide across the canal, next to St. Michaels. In the group were Lori and Kirk from Easton, PA. They highly recommended Porterra, the travel company they have used for years. We'll have to look into them before planning another trip. 

Thirteen of us were brave enough to go on the tour, which promised blood, torture, beheadings, and stories about the Inquisition. We parted from the Spanish group, only to leapfrog them the rest of the night.

First a rapid fire history lesson about Ghent. Ghent was formed by the Celts in 630 AD. The town is at the confluence of two rivers. During the Middle Ages canals were added to make transportation easier. The town became very wealthy as grains and tapestries were traded. It became the second largest city in the area.

In 1540 Charles V was born here. He was half Spanish, half Austrian. Somehow there was a fight, which he lost, and set "Manchester of the Netherlands" back 250 years. 

Today the largest industries are AI/Tech and the university. Two years ago it was rated number one in exchange students. Having met exchange students on the train earlier that day only reinforced this statement.

Ghent has three towers: St. Nicholas (13th century), Belfry (14th century), and the cathedral (16th century).

We walked towards the Castle, pausing to look at it from the former market square. Meat and vegetables were sold here in the Middle Ages. And small crimes were punished here. Crimes such as gossiping, stealing, and lying. Kenny described the gruesome punishments for us.

The castle was completed in 1180. It is the oldest building in Ghent. Kenny advised us to get the comedy tour when given a choice. That's what we did. The castle still has an impressive collection of torture equipment in it. This time of year it is decorated for Christmas.

The five biggest crimes in the 12th century were: insulting the king/pope, adultery, counterfeiting (this was #1), being a witch, and treason. Punishment was to be boiled alive for five to six hours in front of the town.

Sixteen years ago Ghent was tired of their harsh reputation, so they rebranded this square. They added three black lanterns and gave it an Italian artsy flair. Kenny has heard the lights flicker three times whenever a baby is born in Ghent, thus making it the square of life. Today there is a tourist booth in the former fish market.

We crossed Head Bridge, thus named because this is where heads were put on display after beheadings.

Four gentlemen's faces o this early ninth century building. Maximillian, who ended the golden era of Bruges. Phillip the Handsome, who started the split between Flanders and the Netherlands. Charles V, who ended the golden era of Ghent. Phillip II.  Not exactly the best people to celebrate.

Then there is the bear holding a lion giant graffiti representing the era in the early 1300s when there was a zoo in the abbey across the street. Zoos were considered a status symbol of the era. It is where gifts from foreign leaders were kept. There is a legend where a bear escaped one night when the bars on the gate were opened and killed 50 people that night. The gate is still there.

By 1353 the Count had had enough of the 1180 castle and wanted a new place. He had one built with 300 rooms and a zoo surrounded by a garden on three sides. That castle has since been knocked down, but the dark gate still stands.

This is the site of where Charles V was born, "we don't like him," editorialized Kenny. His father, Philip the Handsome was the King of Austria. He married Joanna of Castile (also known as Joanna the Mad), a Spaniard. When Charles V is a child his parents return to Spain leaving him in Ghent. Philip dies when he drinks a poisoned cup of wine. Joanna asks of she can take him to bed with her, he will be alive the next day. The court allowed her to. When it didn't work the first night, she tried again for the next week. Eventually her father said enough. She went on a diplomatic tour and took his coffin with her. She was the first in line to claim the throne. Her father and son threw her into an abbey. Once her father died it left the road to power open. Charles V ended up ruling about half of Europe. Kenny said no one is ever in this square, except us and the Spanish tour group we've been leapfrogging with. Charles V died in 1558. The statue was erected in 1966. It was a gift from the then-mayor of Toledo (Spain).

From 1364-1713 everyone accused of being a witch died. An interesting fact, 25% of those accused were male. 1585-1624 was the peak of witchcraft. This coincided with the Spanish Inquisition. There was a mini-Ice Age with poor harvests. The church declared everyone against them was a witch.

We walked through the dark gate into a courtyard.

Charles V is born in 1500. As emperor he wanted more. He wanted Paris and Milan, too. He enacted a war tax when leaders said they wouldn't pay, he took them out of bed into the walled area and put nooses around the necks. They were asked to kneel over. If you refused, you were beheaded. In 1540 17 leaders were beheaded. Martin ran away and was caught five years later. This statue represents those who were murdered. The rope noose is still a symbol of being proud to be from Ghent, that you are rebellious. The back has him giving the finger to the emperor. The statue was finished in 1990s, took until 2010 to find a location and be installed.

Front

Back

Charles V did three things that make him still hated:

1) he took the bells out of the belfry, killed the leaders, and installed his own leaders.

2) put his mother in the abbey.

3) from 1530-1555 he killed the protestants, ordinary people.

The Bridge of Imperial Pleasures was installed from 1997-200. There are four statues each with a legend. This one represents Charles V's teenage years when he impregnated the daughter of a butcher, his grandfather separated them. The child is taken away from his mother. Then he gets a weaver pregnant. No wonder no one liked him.

In 1555 Philip the II took over. Charles V died in 1558. In 1566 the Protestants stormed the monastery destroying the art, but not killing people. There was a war on Protestants declared, and an eight year war ensued. In this era the money and power shifted from Ghent to Antwerp. It was the end of the golden era. Most of the important people fled to Haarlem and Amsterdam. It has taken Ghent 250 years to recover.

Three months ago this art exhibit was installed in in the Square of the Rights of Children. It is a protest over wars where children are dying. Mostly in Gaza, but all wars.

Ghent is a very liberal city. A student city. There often protests taking place.

We stopped at to take a picture of the castle. Or two.

Our tour was coming to an end. During the Napoleonic era there was a window tax, meaning the more windows you have, the higher your taxes. Many got around that by boarding up windows. 

The charming cobblestone streets we see today came about in the 19th century when industry returned. The population tripled. People had to work 14 hours a day, including children. Many died. People had large families understanding the likelihood of all of the children surviving was not strong. Half of all children died before the age of three. 

There were more stories. 

After the tour we walked around the Christmas Market a little longer before catching a train to Antwerp. 

Don had been eyeing up a lasagna restaurant in the university district. The dishes were large enough for two meals. We took it back to our VRBO hoping to eat the second half after our day in Amsterdam.

The trip is starting to come to an end.