The Blandijnberg is a 29m high

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

in the city center of

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

History

The Blandijnberg was already inhabited in prehistoric times. In the 3rd century AD. there was a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

on the hill, owned by a person named Blandinus. In the 7th century,

Saint Amand Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the catholic missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium. Life The chief source of details of his ...

founded the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Saint Peter's Abbey on top of the Blandijnberg. The area around the abbey was known as Sint-Pietersdorp (''Saint Peter's Village''). With the expansion of Ghent in the 13th century, the abbey was included in the walled city. At the end of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, the church possessions on the Blandijnberg were confiscated by the city. In the 19th century, the Blandijnberg area was completely urbanized and had become a laborers' neighborhood. In 1848, Sint-Pietersplein, the city's largest square, was laid out in order to redevelop the area. At the end of the 19th century, part of the hill was cleared to build new university buildings for

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

. In the 1930s, the

Ghent University Library Ghent University Library () is a university library located in the city of Ghent, Belgium. It serves the Ghent University community of students and scholarly researchers. History After Ghent University was founded in 1817, books confiscated by the ...

with its iconic ''

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 ...

'', designed by

Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium ...

, was built on top of the Blandijnberg. In 1960, the new buildings of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, known as the

Blandijn The Blandijn, short for Blandijnberg, is a building complex of Ghent University in the Belgian city Ghent and directly adjacent to Boekentoren, the tower of the Ghent University Library. The Blandijn, named after the Blandijnberg hill it stands ...

, were opened. The Blandijn is directly adjacent to the ''Boekentoren''.

Cycling

In recent years, the

Flanders Classics Flanders Classics is an official cooperation among the organizers of the classic cycle races held in Flanders, Belgium. It was founded in 2009 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad , previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and holds significant pre ...

has both started and finished on the Blandijnberg hill.

References

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History

Cycling

References

See also