The Krook
This architectural work of art is a unique meeting place for residents, students and visitors. You can meet other people there, discover culture, enjoy a quiet drink or even try out innovations and technologies like 3D printing and virtual reality for yourself. As well as connecting people, the building links the Historic Centre with the Art Quarter.
Various institutions work together and offer services at the site. They are known collectively as ‘the inhabitants of De Krook’. In addition to the city library, Imec (the Flemish research centre for nanoelectronics and digital technologies) and UGent are housed at De Krook.
The building also includes a multi-purpose room, a study room and a reading café.
The monumental building, which incorporates works by artist Michaël Borremans, was designed by the Ghent architecture firm Coussée & Goris Architecten and their partner TV RCR Aranda Pigem Vilalta Arquitectes. This Spanish architecture firm also won the Pritzker Prize this year, the highest international distinction for architecture!
St Peter’s Abbey, peaceful vineyard
This Benedictine abbey was founded in the 7th century by St Amand, who christened the very city of Ghent itself. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it grew into nothing short of an abbey village, with farms, gardens, homes and estates. The abbey owed its prosperity to the privileges it had gained and the taxes it was allowed to impose on its estates. It owned land all the way to the port in Ghent.
The virtual monk ‘Alison’ will give you a virtual tour of the abbey. ‘Jean-François Alison’ is your mystery movie guide during your visit to St Peter’s Abbey. In seventeen episodes, he takes you on an exciting and mysterious journey in search of his friend’s murderer. He takes you to places you would never otherwise go. The mediaeval dining hall, the majestic abbey church, a beautiful garden and endless attics: you will stumble from one surprise to the next, between heaven and earth. It is really thrilling, and suitable for children as well. Why not take a virtual look at St Peter’s Abbey now?
The garden of this abbey is a real hotspot in Ghent that is particularly popular with the city’s students who come here to chill out or revise in the sunshine. A must-see during your city break. The magnificent garden with its vineyard and ruin is an oasis of greenery in the city. Prestigious exhibitions with an international allure are held every year in St Peter’s Abbey. The dining wing of St Peter’s Abbey is authentic, dating from the Middle Ages. Visit the ground floor of St Peter’s Abbey for free (cloisters and quadrangle, as well as the permanent exhibition Between Heaven & Earth and the abbey garden).
