Around the year 867, Baldwin Iron Arm, the first Count of Flanders, decided to build a castle at the meeting of the Lieve and Lys rivers in order to hold back the raiding Norsemen. Soon a town arose around the castle, and Baldwin adopted it as the seat of his domain. By the 12th century, the castle had expanded and was strengthened and the town of Ghent was rapidly growing into a prosperous city.  The cloth trade flourished here like nowhere else. Such levels of prosperity, however, caused the less prosperous workers and citizens to come into conflict with the ruling nobility several times in the following centuries.

By the late 15th century, the cloth trade began to wane. Nevertheless, Ghent remained a thriving city by shifting its economy to the shipping trade along the Lys and the Scheldt (Schelde).  In the second half of the century, however, the closing of the Scheldt brought commercial decline, which lasted until the revival of the cloth industry during the industrial boom of the 19th century.

Ghent, which was the 16th century’s most powerful city in north-western Europe, next to Paris, is now the lively core of a large area (population 237,000) with a historical centre that breathes history and charm. Cosy corners alternate with pleasant and busy shopping streets. Ghent distinguishes itself from other Flemish cities by its combination of industry and commerce, and agreeable charming inner city that has preserved many of the old medieval quarters. At the end of November 2008, National Geographic Travellers Magazine ranked Ghent third in its global ranking of Authentic Destinations! The university campuses are spread across the city, which enlivens the atmosphere. 

Ghent is at the heart of Europe, being only 30 minutes away from Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, the coast, France and the Netherlands. Its is also connected to modern seaports, being the terminus of important navigation routes, all of which provides considerable industrial activity. A network of waterways connects Ghent with a vast "hinterland". Situated at the junction of the motorways E17 (Lisbon-Stockholm) and E40 (London-Istanbul), the city is as easy to reach by car as by train.

The city is, moreover, also a cultural attraction with its important music and film festivals, as well as its varied theatre and performance scene.
Did you know that Ghent is a very old, but at the same time a very young city? For every traditional theatre, there are five small, independent venues and for each commercial cinema complex, there is an arthouse cinema as well. The music scene is live and original, with many international bands playing Ghent, and the Belgian festivals, all year round. In June 2009, Ghent has received the title ‘Unesco Creative City of Music’.

Ghent was also the first city in the world to officially launch a vegetarian day, which has received worldwide attention in the press. The campaign “Thursday Veggie Day” was officially launched in Ghent on May 13th 2009 and is invented by EVA (Ethical Vegetarian Alternative, Belgium’s biggest vegetarian organisation) and since 2009 has been officially supported by the city of Ghent. Through the campaign Ghent citizens are encouraged to eat vegetarian at least one day a week, for example on Thursday.
Through a decrease in meat consumption, the City of Ghent, one of the 370 European climate cities, is taking a big step in its engagement to go beyond national and European environmental objectives. Moreover, a lower meat consumption perfectly fits in the health policy of the City of Ghent.