Old Post Office, Protected monument and former post office in central Ghent, Belgium
The Old Post Office is a protected monument in central Ghent, designed by architect Louis Cloquet, with a tall clock tower and an ornate facade covered in carved stone details. The building is arranged around several internal courtyards and covered galleries that connect its different sections into one large complex.
The building was designed in the late 1800s and completed in the early 1900s, in time for the 1913 World Exhibition held in Ghent. It served as the city's main post office for decades before being gradually converted to other uses.
Painted post pigeons decorate the walls as reminders of the building's original postal function, visible to anyone walking through its corridors and courtyards. Today the space draws locals and visitors alike, who come to shop, eat, or simply pass through the covered galleries.
The building sits in the heart of Ghent, close to the Graslei waterfront and Sint-Michielsbrug bridge, and is easy to reach on foot from most of the city center. Inside you will find shops, restaurants, and a hotel, so it is easy to spend time there without needing to plan much in advance.
The bar on the upper floor occupies the space that once served as the postal sorting room, and from there you can look out over Sint-Michielsbrug and the Graslei waterfront. That part of the building would never have been open to the general public when it was still a working post office.
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