The Campo Santo 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 ...

, Belgium, is a famous Roman Catholic public burial ground in Sint-Amandsberg. The Campo Santo has been declared a historical monument by the government. This cemetery is located in the district of Dampoort.

History

On top of the hill 19 m, the bishop Philips Erard van der Noot erected in 1720 a chapel, in baroques style in honour of Saint Amandus. The Roman Catholic bourgeoisie of Ghent favoured this place for important burials: almost all great Catholic families have their graves here. Sited at the top of a hill 19 meters high, it takes its name from the Roman original. The cemetery was opened on 8 December 1847 by Fr Jozef van Damme, the local parish priest. One of the first burials was that of Countess Marie de Hemptinne. As of 2016 this is still the burial place of famous Catholic artists, nobility and politicians from Ghent.

Famous burials

* Christine D'haen, poet and author * Filip De Pillecyn, man of letters * Jules de Saint-Genois (Jules Ludger, Baron de Saint-Genois des Mottes), archivist, writer and historian * Luc De Vos, musician, author and Ghent folk hero * Jan Grauls * Joseph Guislain, psychiatrist *

Corneille Heymans Corneille Jean François Heymans (28 March 1892 – 18 July 1968) was a Belgian physiologist. He studied at the Jesuit College of Saint Barbara and then at Ghent University, where he obtained a doctor's degree in 1920. Heymans won the Nobel Pr ...

Jan Hoet Knight Jan Hoet (; 23 June 1936 – 27 February 2014) was the Belgian founder of SMAK (''Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst'' or Municipal Museum for Contemporary Art) in Ghent, Belgium. Biography Jan Hoet was born in Leuven, Belgium. Throu ...

* Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck *

Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian Democratic and Flemish, Christian People ...

* Polydore Martou and Hortensia Modlinski, brewer, family monument by Geo Verbanck *

Frans Masereel Frans Masereel (31 July 1889 – 3 January 1972) was a Belgium, Belgian painter and graphic artist who worked mainly in France. He is known especially for his woodcuts which focused on political and social issues, such as war and capitalism. He ...

, sculptor * Louis Minard, builder * Lodewijk Roelandt *

Marc Sleen Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian comics artist. He was mostly known for his humorous adventure comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comic ...

, cartoonist * Leo Vindevogel * Gustave van de Woestijne, artist * Karel van de Woestijne, author Not only are some of those who are buried here noteworthy, but also some of the gravestones are the works of famous sculptors or craftsmen such as Jozef Geefs, Aloïs de Beule and Geo Verbanck. The Campo is thus also well known for its funerary heritage and architecture. 131 graves are protected and listed as valuable.

References

External links

Visit.gent.be

Inventaris
{{coord, 51.0645, 3.7498, type:landmark_region:BE, display=title Ghent Cemeteries in Belgium Catholicism in Belgium Roman Catholic cemeteries in Belgium Cemeteries established in the 1840s