William I of The Netherlands and his statue in Ghent, Belgium

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King William I of The Netherlands

and his statue in Ghent, Belgium 


People from Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, have not only the language in common with citizens from The Netherlands but they also share some royal history together.




Common royal history

From 1815  Belgium and thus Flanders, was a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. But not everybody was happy with this union it led to the independence of Belgium in 1830. 

However in Ghent, the capital of Eastern Flanders, the people were happy with the reign of King William I of The United Kingdom of The Netherlands. 

The Monarch founded the University of Ghent and he gave the order to create the canal of Ghent-Terneuzen. 




A statue

In 2015 (200 years after the formation of the United Kingdom of The Netherlands), Ghent honoured King William I with a statue. This statue was erected on a beautiful location at the Reep and was revealed on 20 October 2018.

The statue costed 25.000 euro and was paid by crowdfunding, gifts and from the Flemish government and the Town council of Ghent. 


A visit

It was a while since I visited Ghent and it was the first time, I could take pictures from the statue of King William I of The Netherlands. As a lover of royal history it was very nice to see the amazing statue on such a beautiful location. 


Own pictures taken on 19 September 2020.

 

Location: Gent, België

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