A woman over a thousand years old had been recovered with no name, no headstone and no jewellery. And yet we were able to get a very close idea about her life by studying her remains. What was supposed to be a small-scale investigation grew into a full-blown detective story in St Peter's Abbey.
A naive teenager, a shrew or a feminist ... who was Judith of Flanders really?
The Carolingians, the Treaty of Verdun and the invasion of the Vikings: for most of us, the 9th century consists of nothing more than vague echoes from our third year in secondary school, and is therefore a period we're particularly keen to forget about. But once you realise that the people back then were also human beings made of flesh and blood, that's when history actually becomes rock-and-roll. And that's especially true in the case of Judith, the first countess of Flanders.
Stroll through Ghent in its most beautiful evening light
Between sunset and midnight, Ghent is bathed in the warm glow of mood lighting. It's a unique way to experience the beautiful squares, streets and monuments. The light brings out views, details and hidden gems that you might not notice during the day. Follow the light walk and see Ghent in its very best evening light.
And then there you are, face to face with the naked Adam and Eve. They’re painted in exquisite detail, right down to Adam’s curly chest hair. Few characters on the Ghent Altarpiece capture the imagination quite like they do. But how did people in Van Eyck’s time view them? And in the following decades?
Conservation is a wonderful profession because it combines so many things: art history and science, tangibility and chemistry. Thanks to today's technology, we are revealing The Ghent Altarpiece as it originally appeared in the 15th century – and that's a magical experience when you experience it right up close.
A whole library has been written about the role of Jan and Hubert Van Eyck. We do not know which one of the brothers painted what part of the Ghent Altarpiece. No other works of art by Hubert have been preserved, which makes him more mysterious. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t exist. This persistent myth was invented by a Nazi sympathiser from Bruges…
Are you someone who likes to know where the food you buy comes from? Who produced them, how they are produced, what you can do with them? Then, like me, you’re a fan of a short-chain food system, where the food on your plate has passed through as few intermediaries as possible. Local products and a short food chain are big in Ghent.
The bioanthropologist Jessica Palmer directs the lab at the Ghent Archaeological Science Centre. Together with her colleagues, she examined the bones of a woman who had rested for more than a thousand years in front of the entrance to St Peter's Church in Ghent. Was this Judith, the first countess of Flanders?
Steven Vanderputten is a professor of history at Ghent University. He conducts scholarly research into our medieval society and culture, with a predilection for the period from the 9th to the 12th century – a period he is definitely does not wish to call ‘the dark Middle Ages’.
Lieve Staes handles the communication of complex spatial projects at the Project Office for Space of the City of Ghent. Her favourite subjects are the Light Plan and water. Professionally, she shares all the details through the website and walks, among other things. But even in her spare time, she can't resist taking family and friends around fairy-tale Ghent at dusk.
