Groot Vleeshuis (Great Butcher's Hall), Ghent

The Groot Vleeshuis (Great Butcher's Hall) is a former covered market and guildhall. Back in the late Middle Ages, there was another Groot Vleeshuis in Ghent, on the Vismarkt (now Groentenmarkt). The first mention of it in the city documents appears in 1332-1333.

The old butcher's house, made of wood, was much smaller than the current building. Around 1407 it grew increasingly dilapidated and the butchers left it for a new, larger one. Between 1446 and 1448, a chapel with a meeting room was built in the southwestern corner. Also, to ensure a steady supply of fish, four canals had been made underneath the building to enable flat fishing boats to reach the Vismarkt directly from the Lys River. The vaults of these passages are still seen on the side of the river.

In 1543, 16 tripe houses (shops) were added, in which viscera, intestinal fat and other remains of slaughtered animals, in addition to poultry, were sold – previously not allowed inside the Hall. By the end of the 19th century, the Groot Vleeshuis became vacant following the construction of a new meat house next to the Vismijn on Sint-Veerleplein.

In the run-up to the 1913 World's Fair, a decision was taken to restore the Groot Vleeshuis along with the tripe houses to their pre-1744 condition. The renewed Hall, designed by architect Van Hamme, received additional uses as a market for fruit and vegetables, the Post and Telegraph office, a parking garage and a partial fish trade.

The unique building, protected as a monument since 1943, underwent overhaul in the late 1990s. Today it houses a promotion center for East Flemish regional products. Here you will find many Belgian specialties, like chocolates, beer and other tasty delights, not to mention a variety of local souvenirs.