Vrijdagmarkt, Ghent

Vrijdagmarkt (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvrɛi̯dɑɣmɑrkt]; English: Friday Market) is a city square in the historic center of Ghent, Belgium. It is named after the weekly tradition to stage a market every Friday morning. As one of the oldest squares in Ghent, it played an important role in the city's history.[1]

Statue of Jacob van Artevelde in the middle of the square.
Terraces on the Vrijdagmarkt during Summer.

Locale

With its dimensions of roughly 100 by 100 m, it is one of the largest public squares in Ghent. Every Friday morning the square is filled with market stalls; a tradition dating back to 1199.[1] The centerpiece of the plaza is the statue of Jacob van Artevelde, Ghent's wise man who sided with England during the Hundred Years' War and was murdered on the site in 1345.

The place is surrounded with guildhalls, which currently house bars, restaurants and terraces. In the northerly corner there are two monumental art nouveau buildings of the socialist movement, built at the turn of the 20th century, which currently house the socialist health insurance federation and the Socialist National Trade Union Federation.

Underneath the square there is an underground multi-storey car park with a maximum capacity of 648 vehicles.[2]

Panorama
Vrijdagmarkt panorama in January 2006.

References
  1. "Eén van de mooiste pleinen in Europa". /users.telenet.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. "Parkeergarage Vrijdagmarkt (P1)". www.stad.gent (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 October 2016.

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