Euro / World Meeting 2023

Dendermonde is a city in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. The municipality of Dendermonde is at the mouth of the river Dender, where it flows into the Scheldt. The town has a long-standing folkloric feud with Aalst, south along the same river, which dates from the Middle Ages.

The city is an administrative, commercial, educational, and medical centre for the surrounding region.

The central market square (Grote Markt) with the belfry, Town Hall (housing an historic art collection) and the Butcher’s Hall (Dutch: Vleeshuismuseum), a museum with an archeological and historical collection, from the prehistory of the region to the 21st century.

The Church of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze Lieve-Vrouwekerk) with two paintings by Anthony van Dyck. The béguinage is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
The Dendermonde Abbey, a Benedictine abbey famous for its library containing an original manuscript of Hildegard of Bingen, called the ‘Dendermonde Codex’.

On Sunday, you will have free time to explore and visit these hotspots of Dendermonde and relax on one (or more) of our nice terrasses, enjoying the famous Belgian beers!

Dendermonde likes to be known for its decennial procession, featuring the heroic horse, Ros Beiaard. Legend has this horse saving his master and his three brothers from capture by Charlemagne. The annual Parade of the three Giants of the Guilds Indian, Mars and Goliath, have the title as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (Unesco). This parade takes place on the last thursday of august.

Ghent 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, exceeded in size only by Brussels and Antwerp. It is a port and university city.

The city originally started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Late Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe, with some 50,000 people in 1300.

With around 275,000 inhabitants, Ghent is Belgium’s second largest municipality by number of inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,205 km2 (465 sq mi) and has a total population of around 600,000, which ranks it as the fourth most populous in Belgium.

Much of the city’s medieval architecture remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored. Its centre is a carfree area. Highlights are the Saint Bavo Cathedral with the Ghent Altarpiece, the belfry, the Gravensteen castle, and the splendid architecture along the old Graslei harbour. Ghent has established a blend between comfort of living and history; it is not a city-museum. The city of Ghent also houses three béguinages and numerous churches including Saint-Jacob’s church, Saint-Nicolas’ church, Saint Michael’s church and St. Stefanus.

Some, if not all, of these venues will be visited, either during the guided tour, either during the boat trip on the canals which cross through Ghent.