Sint-Veerleplein

Sint-Veerleplein is defined by the heavy, iron gate at the entrance to the Gravensteen castle. The square functioned as the primary center of public justice for centuries. In the late eighteenth century, the Austrian authorities used this ground for the last public execution in Ghent. When the city decided to modernize, they cleared the old, cramped houses that crowded the castle walls to open this plaza. Now, the cobblestones sit where townspeople once gathered to watch the count's law take hold.