Numerous times in the past the fate of Ghent has been decided upon on this beautiful market square. It is called the 'Friday Market' (or Vrijdagmarkt in Dutch) for the simple reason that on Fridays a market takes place here. The market has been witness to numerous celebrations as well as battles. Everything that happened here was related to  the activities of the corporations of which the weavers and the traders were the most powerful. During the Middle-Ages the fate of Ghent largely depended on the wool trade and industry. When the wool industry flourished, so did the rest of the city.

It was here that king Edward II of England was proclaimed king of France in 1340 by the guilds under the command of Jacob Van Artevelde whose statue now occupies a central spot on the market. This proclamation was an attempt of Ghent to preserve the close trade relations with England, because for the wool production they depended heavily on the import of the raw material from across the channel. It gave the citizens of Ghent a reason to rebel against the king of France, from whom the fiefdom of Flanders actually depended. This revolution was led by  Jacob Van Artevelde, who then became a 'national' hero of Gent. However, not for long : he was murdered a few years later by the same citizens whose interests he had tried to protect.

Nowadays, the Friday Market offers the visitor a beautiful panorama of old medieval houses. The most remarkable building is the 'Toreken' (or: little tower), a building from the 15th century. From the little tower most of the new trade regulations were read aloud to everyone present on the square.
In the left corner stands a building in a completely different style: the house of the socialist trade union, built around the beginning of the 20th century in Art Nouveau style.

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