Blue Gate

The Blue Gate (or Blue Gates) is a neighborhood in the Belgian city of Kortrijk. The residential area is located south of the historic city center and is situated between the Doorniksewijk and the neighborhoods of Sint-Elisabeth and Walle. Central to the neighborhood is the city park De Blauwe Poorte, one of the largest parks in Kortrijk. The central neighborhood square is the Halenplein.

The history of the park and the neighborhood of De Blauwe Poort dates back to the 15th century, when the so-called Lordship of Steenbrugge was established. This Lordship also included the farmstead 'Blauwe Poort'.

When the city sought further expansion possibilities in the 20th century, the city council decided in the mid-1950s to develop several new residential neighborhoods here. When Ivo Joris Lambrecht became alderman for Spatial Planning in 1951, he decided to actively pursue land policy and turned his attention to 24 hectares of land from the farmstead De Blauwe Poort, at the edge of the developed part of the city between the Doorniksesteenweg and Sint-Denijsestraat. Thus, the city purchased the farm and the surrounding lands in 1954. A part of this was subdivided and about 4.5 hectares were developed as a new urban park. A special development plan was approved for the construction of 600 homes around a large park with green tentacles extending far into the new neighborhood. Half of the homes were built as social housing, mixed ownership, and rental, while the other half of the building plots was made available to private builders at social land prices. Characteristic of the urban planning of this neighborhood is that it was designed, on the advice of engineer Mertens (Ministry of Public Works), as a network of dead-end streets ('pijpenkoppen'), which were connected by walking paths.

The current city park De Blauwe Poort still has an impressive gate that recalls the fortifications of the lordship and the gate of the former farm. The moated farm in question has been preserved as a meeting center for the new neighborhood. Later, the city leased the property to a hospitality operator.

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