Opposite the Castle of the Counts lies the monumental gateway to the Old Fish Market, where Neptune keeps watch over the Scheldt (male) and the Lys (female).
The entirely renovated complex houses, among others, the Visit Gent Office. You can find all sorts of information here!
Just beyond the gate building of the Old Fish Market, you'll find an extraordinary piece of Ghent history. Below the glass, you can see archaeological findings from 2010, including a commemorative stone from 1567, which once lay between the nave and the northern aisle of the very first St Veerle's church. At the top of the stone, you'll spot a medallion bearing a Latin inscription, showing that it marked the grave of Johannes Cornepuut, priest at St Giles' church in Bruges, who died on 3 April 1567 and was buried in St Veerle's church. Above the text, you see a chalice and consecrated wafer, as traditional symbols of priesthood, and, below the medallion, the words 'COGITA MORI' meaning 'remember death'.
This stone is one of the last tangible reminders of the medieval St Veerle's church, which was badly damaged and largely demolished during the period of iconoclasm. Later, on the same site, a new church was built, whilst, in the 17th century, the western end made way for the construction of the Fish Market with a monumental entrance. This was probably when the stone disappeared into the ground.
Less than a metre from the gravestone, you also see a remnant of one pillar that was once part of the church construction.
