Genth
Genth, the mos beautiful city
Ghent (Dutch: Gent [ɣɛnt] ; French: Gand [ɡɑ̃]; historically known as Gaunt in English) 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, after Brussels and Antwerp. It is a port and university city.
Most historians believe that the older name for Ghent, 'Ganda', is derived from the Celtic word ganda, which means ‘confluence’, or ‘river mouth’, referring to the Leie river debouching into the Scheldt. Other sources connect its name with an obscure deity named Gontia.
Gentse Feesten
The summer festival in Genth
When
The festival starts on the Friday before the third Sunday of July and lasts until and including the fourth Sunday of July. The date originally had no reference to 21 July, Belgian National Day, but that holiday is always included. The festival starts on "the (Fri)day before the Saturday before 21 July" and lasts ten days.
The last day (until recently always a Monday) is known as de dag van de lege portemonnees ("the day of the empty wallets") alluding to the fact that many people have spent their last penny at the festival and is seen by the people of Ghent as "their" day while visitors leave.
Festivals within the Gentse Feesten
In later years a number of side festivals have chosen the period of the Gentse Feesten to organize separate events.
- Trefpunt Festival
- Gent Jazz Festival
- Polé Polé Festival
History
The first Gentse Feesten was held in 1843, about 400 people attended. The intensity of the festivities changed throughout the years. The modern Gentse Feesten was started in the summer of 1969 by Ghent singer Walter De Buck and ex-wife Paula Monsart with people from Café Trefpunt.
In the beginning the festival consisted of one stage near the Saint Jacob's Church. Since the late 1980s the festival has grown to now cover the whole inner city of Ghent. Although the festival has become a mass event, it has retained some of the rebellious and anarchistic atmosphere of the early days.