Introduction
East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut and West Flanders. Its capital is Ghent.
It has a surface area of 2991 km˛, a population of 1,361,000 inhabitants, and is divided into six administrative districts (arrondissementen in Dutch) which contain 65 municipalities.
Famous people born in the province of East Flanders include (chronologically): Emperor Charles V, the cartographer Gerardus Mercator, the Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta, and the chemist Leo Baekeland (inventor of the Bakelite).
History
In Medieval times, half of the modern province (everything north and west of the River Scheldt) belonged to the much wider County of Flanders, comprising also the totality of the province of West Flanders as well as the northern half of the Nord department in France. The castle of the Counts of Flanders has always been located in Ghent.
Attractions
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Ghent
Ooidonk Castle
Aalst
