Historical centre of Ghent
Ghent is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province
The municipality comprises the city of Ghent proper and the towns of Afsnee, Desteldonk, Drongen, Gentbrugge, Ledeberg, Mariakerke, Mendonk, Oostakker, Sint-Amandsberg, Sint-Denijs-Westrem, Sint-Kruis-Winkel, Wondelgem and Zwijnaarde. With 233,120 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006, Ghent is Belgium's third largest municipality and the country's third largest conurbation.
History :
The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and became in the Middle Ages one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe. Today it is a busy city with a port and a university. The city is connected to the sea by the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, it lies at the intersection of the European highways E17 and E40 and it has the third busiest railway station in Belgium.
Trade and Commerce:
The port of Ghent, in the north of the city, is the third largest port of Belgium. It is accessed by the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, which ends near the Dutch port of Terneuzen on the Western Scheldt. The port houses, among others, big companies like Sidmar, Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Parts, Honda, and Stora Enso.
The Ghent University and a number of reasearch oriented companies are situated in the central and southern part of the city.
As the biggest city of East-Flanders, Ghent has many hospitals, schools and shopping streets.
More and more tourism becomes a major segment of employment
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