The Blandijn, short for Blandijnberg, is a building complex of

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when th ...

in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

city

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 i ...

and directly adjacent to

Boekentoren The Boekentoren (Dutch for ''Book Tower'') is a famous building located in Ghent, Belgium, designed by the Belgian architect Henry van de Velde. It is part of the Ghent University Library and currently houses 3 million books. The Boekentoren is di ...

, the tower of the

Ghent University Library Ghent University Library ( nl, Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent) is located in the city of Ghent, Belgium. It serves the university community of students and scholarly researchers. History After Ghent University was founded in 1817, books confisca ...

. The Blandijn, named after the Blandijnberg hill it stands on, houses the Faculty of Arts & Philosophy. The first part of the Blandijn buildings was officially opened in 1960. The Blandijn complex is located centrally in

's student neighborhood. There are several other university buildings within walking distance of the Blandijn. In the 1960s to 1980s, there were several student demonstrations at the site of the Blandijn. The severest demonstrations took place in 1969 in the wake of

May 1968 The following events occurred in May 1968: May 1, 1968 (Wednesday) * CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, was formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. * RAF Strike ...

. Currently, the university is working on the renovation of libraries both in the Blandijn and in the

. All seminary libraries within the Faculty of Arts & Philosophy are being centralized in the Rozier-building, whereas the Boekentoren is facing a make-over. All documents in the tower will temporarily be relocated to an underground library under the court between the Boekentoren and the Blandijn, the construction of which was finished in 2013.
File:Blandijn seen from the Boekentoren.jpg, View of the Blandijn complex from the

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Z ...

of the

File:TraBla 2.jpg, Main entrance on the Blandijnberg street File:Boekentoren court under construction.jpg, Courtyard between the Blandijn and the Boekentoren is being dug out (May 2012)

Notes

References

* Norbert Poulain et al. (1991). ''De universiteit bouwt. 1918-1940''.

External links

*
Official faculty website
{{Ghent University Ghent University Buildings and structures completed in 1960 Buildings and structures in Ghent