OnzeLieveVrouwSintPieterskerk_24-06-2008_14-56-27

The Sint-Pietersplein (; "St. Peter's Square") is a city square located in the south of the historic centre of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

, Belgium. The square is named after St. Peter's Abbey, which is located along its east side. It is Ghent's largest public square and a regular venue for cultural and sporting events, such as the annual Mid-Lent Fair in March. The square and its surrounding buildings are a protected cityscape.

Location

Located on the south side of the

Blandijnberg The Blandijnberg is a 29m high hill in the city center of Ghent in East Flanders, Belgium. History The Blandijnberg was already inhabited in prehistoric times. In the 3rd century AD. there was a Gallo-Roman villa on the hill, owned by a person n ...

, Ghent's highest point, the Sint-Pietersplein is at the heart of Ghent's student neighbourhood. It is directly adjacent to the Arts & Philosophy Faculty of Ghent University in the north; and leads to the Overpoort, known for its concentration of student bars, in the south. The long east side harbours the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Our Lady of St. Peter's Church and St. Peter's Abbey, as well as several neoclassical 19th-century houses and the side-entrance to the university's Faculty of Economics and Business. Opposite the church and abbey is a monumental staircase leading to the adjacent Sint-Amandplein, sided by bistros and restaurants.

History

The current outlay of the Sint-Pietersplein was designed by the urban architect Leclerc-Restiaux and laid out in 1848–1851. With its rectangular dimensions of 80 by 200 metres, it is Ghent's largest open public square. Underneath the Sint-Pietersplein, an underground three-level car park was constructed in the early 21st century. Upon completion of the car park in 2006, the previous asphalt surface was replaced with a brown-and-grey

dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled, ground, or other) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements. A ...

pavement and 18 oak trees were planted on the north side.

Events

The square stages several cultural and sporting events, such as the annual three-week-long Mid-Lent Fair, the academy year ''Student Kick-Off'', the start and finish of the cycling classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

tournament and open-air music concerts. Because of its location outside of the original ramparts of Ghent, the square is not used for the famed

Gentse Feesten The Gentse Feesten (; In Ghent dialect Gense Fieste "The Ghent Festival") is a music and theatre festival in the city of Ghent, Belgium. Besides stage events there are street acts such as mimes and buskers. The festival starts on the Friday before ...

music and theatre festival.

References

{{portal, Belgium Squares in Belgium Geography of Ghent Buildings and structures in Ghent Tourist attractions in Ghent Ghent University World Heritage Sites in Belgium Odonyms referring to religion