Historical tow

The construction of the barge Ghent is an initiative of the late Captain André De Wilde and Walter De Buck. The reconstruction of this 18the century historical ship became one of the most prestigious projects for the unemployed people in Flanders. Through a unique co-operation between the government, private companies and the ‘VDAB’ (Flemish employment agency)  the students of the collective of sculptors ‘Loods 13’ from Ghent (www.loods13.be) and the ‘Steenschuit’ from Boom (www.steenschuit.be)  gained useful experience and were retrained.
The barge was a flat bottom tow which had been used by the States of Flanders to transport passengers and goods on the ‘Brugse Vaart’ from Ghent to Bruges since the 17th century. For almost 200 years it has regularly provided this service between Ghent and Bruges. In the 19th century the barge had to compete more and more with the stage-coach, the iron steamboat and the first trains, which resulted in the stop of the official barge service in 1839.
The barge was prestigiously furnished and decorated, and got famous because of its comfortable way of travelling and culinary delights. There were several important passengers aboard : Infantile Isabelle in 1625, Tsar Peter The Great in 1717, King of France Louis XV in 1745, Prince Charles of Lorraine (in 1749, 1752 and 1756), King of Denmark Christian VI in 1768, Princes Marie-Louise in 1810 and  the King of Belgium Leopold I in 1834.