Baudelopark

About

The Baudelohof, often called Baudelopark, is a public park in the centre of Ghent, located between Baudelostraat, Leie and the Friday Market. The park is located on the historical site of the Abbey of Boudelo.

Abbey and plant garden (1259.b.1903): In 1259 Benedictine monks founded a refuge near the St.Jacob church. In the 16th century this grew into a full-fledged abbey on an island between canals and the Leie. During the French period the abbey site was expropriated and decorated in 1794 as a plant garden for the École centrale du département de löcaut, with Bernard Coppens as the first director. In 1800 Coppens shared the garden with city architect Jean-Baptiste Pisson in four zones: a systematic section, an English landscape garden, a part with evergreen trees and an orangery with greenhouses. In 1804, management moved to Ghent.

After the foundation of Ghent University in 1817 the garden came into use of the university. Sustained discussions about maintenance and pollution made a move inevitable, leading to the transition to Ghent University's contemporary Plant Garden in 1903. The buildings of the former...