Baudelostraat

If you stand back to back with the statue of Jacob of Artevelde, you look into the Baudelostraat. You can see beautiful fronts and gables along that street. This street was intentionaly constructed as a curved road, so one could see the houses from the market and the marvelous gables could lure you into the street. At the end of the 19th century, there was a plan to make a shoppingstreet of the Baudelostraat. That is also the reason why the houses have a very large ground-floor. The function of that ground-floor was a shopping-space and the 1st and 2nd floor were the living spaces. Nevertheless, that plan never succeeded.

The friday market has always been a commercial square and extending that function in the Baudelostraat, it was planned to strengthen the commercial position of the area. 150 worker-houses were removed to realize this plan. The architect "Semey" designed most of these beautiful houses. The plan failed completely. The actual trade and shops never came in this street.

A walk through this neighborhood tells us a lot about the mentality of the bourgeoisie of that time. You can read a lot of moralizing proverbs on many houses.

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