Ghent (Flem. and Ger. Gent, Fr. Gand), a city of Belgium, capital of the province of East Flanders, is situated at the confluence of the Lys and the Scheldt, 34 miles by rail NW. of Brussels.
It is divided by canals into 26 islands, connected by 270 bridges, and is encompassed with gardens and meadows, while the former walls have been converted into pleasant promenades. It is in general well built; but in the older part it still retains several quaint and picturesque houses. Among the chief buildings are the cathedral of St Bavon, of the 13th and 14th centuries, counted amongst the finest churches of the country, and containing the 'Adoration of the Lamb,' by the brothers Van Eyck; the belfry-tower (1183–1339), 280 feet high, or 375 with the iron spire of 1855; the new citadel (1822–30); the hôtel-de-ville (1480–1628), one of the most florid specimens of flamboyant Gothic in Belgium; the Palais de Justice (1835–43), with a peristyle of the Corinthian order; the university (1816), the Béguinage (q.v.), and the Academy of Painting. The cotton, woollen, and linen manufactures are the chief industries. Leather, lace, and sugar are also manufactured, and there are foundries, machine-works, breweries, &c. Specially noteworthy is the floriculture of Ghent. By the Great Canal, which flows into the Scheldt, Ghent is united with the sea, and it can receive into its docks vessels drawing 17 feet of water. The harbour is capable of holding 400 vessels, new docks having been opened in 1881. Ghent is very rich in charitable and public institutions. With the university are united a school for civil engineers, another for arts and sciences, and the former town-library. Pop. (1846) 102,977; (1891) 150,223; (1896) 159,218.
Ghent, whose patron-saint, the soldier-monk Bavon, is said to have died in 655, was certainly a prosperous city in the time of the Merovingian Franks. In 1007 it was given by the emperor to Count Baldwin IV. In the 12th century it was made the capital of Flanders. And under the counts it continued to prosper and increase, until, in the 14th century, it was able to send 80,000 men into the field, and to withstand, single-handed, the power of the count backed up by the king of France. The wealth of the citizens of Ghent, and the unusual measure of liberty which they enjoyed, encouraged them to resist with arms any attempt to infringe upon their peculiar rights and privileges. This jealous and turbulent spirit is exemplified in the famous insurrection of Jacob van Artevelde (q.v.), and other instances. John of Gaunt, i.e. Ghent, was born here in 1340. For many years the city maintained a vigorous resistance against the Dukes of Burgundy; and having rebelled against Charles V., their successor, in 1540 it was deprived of its privileges. From this time the town began to decay, and under Philip II. the Inquisition struck a yet deadlier blow at its well-being. In the various wars of which the Netherlands has been the battle-ground, Ghent has suffered severely, and has been frequently taken, especially in the 18th century. Falling into the hands of the French at the Revolution, it was made the capital of the department of the Scheldt, till its incorporation in the kingdom of the Netherlands in 1814, in which year was signed the peace of Ghent between Britain and America. In 1830 it fell to Belgium. See FLANDERS; also Van Duyse, Gand, monumental et pittoresque (Brussels, 1886).