The Toreken

The Toreken

The Ghent audio-guided tour presents you with the Toreken, the oldest building of the Vrijdagmarkt square, recognisable by its cylindrical corner turret.

The tanners' house on the market square

The name of the Toreken comes from the Dutch "toren", the tower. Appearing in the fifteenth century, the building was the house of the tanners' guild, dedicated to the sale of hides. It stands on the Vrijdagmarkt, the political and social heart of Ghent in the Middle Ages, where the Joyous Entries were celebrated, those ceremonies marking the first visit of a monarch. The square was also, more darkly, a place of public executions until 1863, a memory that should be evoked with gravity. Today, the Vrijdagmarkt hosts every Friday morning a traditional market and bears at its centre a bronze statue of eleven metres of Jacob van Artevelde, a figure of the fourteenth century nicknamed the "sage of Ghent", made by the sculptor Pierre De Vigne-Quyo.

What there is to see

The Toreken charms with its corner turret and its medieval appearance, on the lively Vrijdagmarkt square. All around, the statue of Jacob van Artevelde and the Friday market recall the rich political and merchant past of the city. It is a historic stage in the heart of Ghent, between the memory of the guilds and the life of today.

Practical information

The Toreken is on the Vrijdagmarkt square, in the historic centre of Ghent. Its façade can be contemplated freely; the square hosts a traditional market every Friday morning and can be walked at all hours and on the level.

What was the original function of the Toreken?

It was the house of the tanners' guild, dedicated to the sale of hides, appearing in the fifteenth century.

What does the statue of the Vrijdagmarkt represent?

Jacob van Artevelde, a figure of the fourteenth century nicknamed the "sage of Ghent", in a bronze work eleven metres high.