GHENT (Flem. Gelid, Ger. Gent, Fr. Gand), an important city of Belgium, capital of the province of East Flanders, is situated at the confluence of the Lys and the Scheldt, 81 m. w.n.w. of Brussels. It is divided by canals into 26 islands, by 270 bridges, and is encompassed with gardens, meadows, and pl6asant promenades. It is surrounded by walls, pierced by seven gates, and inclosing an area eight miles in circuit, and is, in general, well built; but in the older part its quaint and fantastic houses render it in the highest degree picturesque. Among the chief buildings are the Church of St. Rayon, containing the famous " Adoration of the Lamb," by the brothers Van Eyck; the new citadel, finished in 1830; the palace of justice, built in 1844, and having a peristyle of the Corinthian order; the university, connected with a school for engine ering, and for trades and professions; the Beguinage, a convent, containing about 700 nuns; the royal gymnasium ; and the academy of painting. The cotton and woolen manufactures are carried on on a great scale. • There arc many cotton-mills, and about 25,000 workmen are employed in the spinning, printing, dyeing and weaving of cotton, woolen, and linen fabrics. Leather, paper, and carpets are also manufactured, and there are in Ghent also foundries, machine-works, and sugar-refineries. Specially note worthy is the floriculture of Ghent, which forms a most important and flourishing branch of industry. By the Great canal, which flows into the Scheldt, Ghent is united with the•sea, and it can receive into its docks vessels drawing 18 ft. of water. The new dock
or basin on the n.e. side of the city is capable of holding 400 vessels. Pop. '76, 127,653.
Ghent is mentioned in history as early as the 7th century. About the year 868, Baldwin Bras-de-Fer, the first count of Flanders, built a fortress here as a defense against the Normans. Under the counts of Flanders, Ghent continued to prosper and increase, until, in the 14th c., it was able to send 50,000 men into the field. 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 readiness to arm in their own defense is exemplified in the famous insurrection of Jacob van Artevelde (q.v.), and other instances. For, many years, it maintained a vigorous, but unavailing resistance against the dukes of Burgundy—who wished to be recognized as counts of Flanders—and the kings of Spain. In the various wars of which the Netherlands has been the battle-ground, Ghent suffered severely, and was frequently taken. In 1792, the Netherlands fell under the power of France, and Ghent was made the capital of the department of the Scheldt, continuing under French dominion until the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, when it was incorporated with Flanders in the kingdom of the Netherlands.