The Campo Santo cemetery is located at the Sint-Amanduskerk of Sint-Amandsberg, a part of the city of Ghent, referred to as the Campo Santo cemetery in Rome.
A striking feature is the natural hill, 19 meters high, even though you are here in a flat landscape. It is a cemetery where many Catholic celebrities, well-known liberals, literati, painters and composers were given an honorable resting place.
The largest Parisian cemetery, Père Lachaise, served as inspiration. The cultural, financial and Catholic elite favored Campo Santo and this place soon became an elite cemetery with monumental tombstones and eccentric dead. This cemetery now has more than 131 protected tombs.
The Campo Santo cemetery is located on a hill on which Saint Amandus is said to have preached in the 7th century, with the late Baroque Saint Amandus Chapel (1720) at its highest point. The traditional Catholic Ghent bourgeoisie planted beautifully carved tombs and family cellars here for a lot of money. This, too, is, in more ways than one, a place of rest.
Find a number of Ghent folk heroes such as Jan Hoet, art connoisseur, the Ghent art pope, Luc De Vos, singer of rock group Gorki, author, columnist, philosopher, roguish folk figure, Marc Sleen, cartoonist of NERO and Wilfried Martens, politician and multiple prime minister of Belgium.
The Campo Santo hiking plan
Where is Jan Hoet's final resting place? Under which tree does folk hero Luc De Vos rest? Be sure to take a trip through the history of Ghent during your city trip. This walking map guides you along the 49 famous tombs on Campo Santo, with an explanation of the story of each known deceased. You can get this card for free at the Tourist Information Office Visit Gent.