STAM

You enter the abbey through the rood-screen in the church. This is where the chronological trail begins, making Ghent 'legible' by analyzing the different periods.

the trail:
1. the present-day city
The introductory room is the starting point for the chronological trail. The visitor can form a picture of present-day Ghent from an aerial photo and a model of the city centre.

2. growing city
Although the main point here is the earliest core of the city, a great many relics also indicate the presence of man in the period prior to this. Stone sculptures and illuminated manuscripts illustrate the importance and vigour of the rival abbeys of St Bavo and St Peter.

3. metropolis
In the Middle Ages, Ghent was one of the biggest cities in Europe. The wealth amassed as a result of the cloth trade and grain storage was made manifest in the construction of large stone houses, guild houses and monumental public buildings. Its increasing self-confidence led equally to long-term conflicts with the centralisation policies of the counts, dukes and emperors.

4. festive city
Paintings, procession torches, engravings and suchlike are reminders of the great festivities organised for countless events such as the joyous entry of monarchs into the city. The relative political calm and the return of economic growth after turbulent times stimulated building activity.

5. industrial city
It was industrialisation that finally forced the city to expand beyond its mediaeval limits. The city gates were demolished and several new districts appeared outside the former ramparts. Large-scale infrastructure work was done to make sure this expansion was not chaotic. The historical centre also underwent thorough transformation.

6. network city
The decline of the textile industry after the Second World War gave Ghent the cheerless look of a grey factory town. New economic activities later injected the city and its harbour with new dynamism. Ghent also developed into Flanders’ largest educational centre. By incorporating adjacent boroughs it became a conurbation.

7. city of the future
The city is a living organism in constant motion. Urban planning and/or architectural projects on various scales illustrate the unending work of developing the city.