
- Order:
- Duration: 3:39
- Published: 23 Jun 2009
- Uploaded: 25 Jul 2011
- Author: travelflicks
Name | GhentGent |
---|---|
Picture | BelfortGent.jpg |
Picture-width | 270 |
Picture-legend | Belfry of Ghent. Behind it the Saint Nicholas church is visible. |
Map | GemGentLocation.png |
Map-legend | Ghent in the province of East Flanders |
Arms | Wapen van Gent.jpg |
Flag | GentseVlag.svg |
Region | |
Community | |
Province | |
Arrondissement | Ghent |
Nis | 44021 |
Pyramid-date | 01 January 2006 |
0-19 | 20.92 |
20-64 | 61.21 |
65 | 17.88 |
Foreigners | 7.31 |
Foreigners-date | 01 July 2005 |
Mayor | Daniël Termont (sp.a) |
List of mayors | List of mayors of Ghent |
Majority | sp.a, Open VLD, Pro Gent |
Parties | sp.aVLDPro GentVlaams BelangCD&V;Groen!independent |
Seats | 51141129741 |
Sections-name | GentMariakerkeDrongenWondelgemSint-AmandsbergOostakkerDesteldonkMendonkSint-Kruis-WinkelGentbruggeLedebergAfsneeSint-Denijs-WestremZwijnaarde |
Sectionspostal | 90009030903190329040904190429042904290509050905190519052 |
Postal-codes | 9000–9052 |
Telephone-area | 09 |
Web | www.gent.be |
Lat deg | 51 |
Lat min | 3 |
Lon deg | 3 |
Lon min | 44 |
Ghent (; , ; , ; and formerly Gaunt in English; from the Classic Latin term Candia or Gandia meaning landlock by the confluence of rivers by the union of the Celtic term "Cand" and Latin "ia" land) is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe. Today it is a busy city with a port and a university.
The municipality comprises the city of Ghent proper and the towns of Afsnee, Desteldonk, Drongen, Gentbrugge, Ledeberg, Mariakerke, Mendonk, Oostakker, Sint-Amandsberg, Sint-Denijs-Westrem, Sint-Kruis-Winkel, Wondelgem and Zwijnaarde. With 240,191 inhabitants in the beginning of 2009, Ghent is Belgium's second largest municipality by number of inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and has a total population of 594,582 as of 1 January 2008, which ranks it as the fourth most populous in Belgium. The current mayor of Ghent, Daniël Termont, leads a coalition of the sp.a, Open VLD and Pro Gent.
Every year the ten-day-long "Ghent Festival" (Gentse Feesten in Dutch) is held. About two million visitors attend every year.
The Festival of Flanders had its 50th celebration in 2008. In Ghent it opens with the OdeGand City festivities that takes place on the second Saturday of September. Some 50 concerts take place in diverse locations throughout the medieval inner-city and some 250 international artists performs. Other major Flemish cities hold similar events, all of which form part of the Festival of Flanders (Antwerp with Laus Polyphoniae; Bruges with MAfestival; Brussels with KlaraFestival; Limburg with Basilica, Mechelen and Brabant with Novecento and Transit).
The Ghent University and a number of research oriented companies are situated in the central and southern part of the city, such as Ablynx, Innogenetics, Cropdesign, Bayer Cropscience.
As the biggest city of East-Flanders, Ghent has many hospitals, schools and shopping streets.
Tourism is increasingly becoming a major employer in the local area.
When arriving in Ghent, it is best to leave cars in Park & Ride zones next to the road. The actual city centre is a car free area, and parking is difficult and expensive in the city. On weekends, night buses provide free transportation through the night.
Every year the Six Days of Flanders, a six-day track cycling race, is held in Ghent. It takes place in the Kuipke velodrome.
The city also hosts an annual track and field meet at the Flanders Sports Arena: the Indoor Flanders meeting. It is one of the IAAF's foremost indoor track and field events and two-time Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj set a world record at the event in 1997.
Category:Cities and towns in Flanders Category:Municipalities of East Flanders Category:Populated places in Belgium Category:Port cities and towns in Belgium Category:Provincial capitals of Flanders Category:University towns
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.