Kattenberg, corner Kunstlaan (wall of Leopold Barracks)

Hugues C. Pernath, 'I do not mourn, no tenderness attracts me'

Initial barracks plans for this Gents hilltop around 1677, current Leopold barracks built from 1898. During both world wars occupied by the Germans, from 1950 it served as the training center for the Health Service of the Belgian army. Recently, the building has taken on a cultural role: temporary accommodation for collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, depots for the Design Museum, annual venue for the DRUKsel book fair, development of artists' studios and rehearsal spaces.

Hugues C. Pernath (1931-1975), Flemish poet, translator, and painter, was a co-founder of the avant-garde magazine Gard Sivik, editor of the NVT, and a member of the Antwerp poetry association Pink Poets. His hermetic-mannerist poetry (The Mask Man, Instrumentarium for a Winter), which reflects a fundamental life pessimism and human cruelty, evolved into a balanced-sober lyricism in the 1970s. State Poetry Prize 1977. The Pernath Fund, named after this cult figure, annually awards a notable poetry collection. Pernath was a professional soldier for thirteen years; in 1961, his Soldier Letters were published with poetry companion Paul Snoek.

Literair Gent