Statue of Jacob Van Artevelde

In the middle of the Vrijdagmarkt stands one of Ghent's heroes: Jacob van Artevelde. The wool merchant who took charge of Ghent during the Hundred Years' War between France and England, then united the Flemish cloth cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres, forged alliances with England and strengthened the ties between Flanders and Hainaut. You can read the entire history in the reliefs on the pedestal. Thanks to his efforts, Ghent was able to buy English wool again, make and sell cloth. A city in deep crisis became a city with economic prosperity again. But with the prosperity also came the old feuds between weavers and fullers. In the emotions that accompanied these feuds, Jacob was murdered, no less, by a weaver, right in front of his own house on the Kalandeberg. Did you know that Jacob Van Artevelde had very close ties with the English king Edward III? The English queen Philippa gave birth to a son 'John of Gaunt' in the Saint Bavo's Abbey. Jacob van Artevelde named his son Philips after his godmother Queen Philipa. Jacob crowned the English king as King of France here on the Vrijdagmarkt, which caused a new chapter in the Hundred Years' War, because the French of course did not want to accept that: after all, they already had a king! Source; Visitgent

Jacob van Artevelde pronunciation, nicknamed the Wise Man, was a Flemish popular leader and statesman. As a cloth merchant, broker and owner of extensive properties, he belonged to the wealthy bourgeoisie in Ghent. Jacob van Artevelde was best known as a Ghent rebel leader. Wikipedia
Born: 1290, Ghent
Died: 24 July 1345, Ghent

Interesting fact: on the spot where Jacob Van Artevelde now stands, there was a wooden, gilded statue of ... Emperor Charles V, for the people of Ghent almost public enemy number one, until the French Revolution. The French revolutionaries also did not want to hear anything that referred to nobility or royal houses, so Emperor Charles had to disappear to make way for a Tree of Liberty, a symbol of the values of the revolution, Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité.
The statue of Jacob Van Artevelde was unveiled on 14 September 1863; more than 500 years after he was murdered.
In the intervening 5 centuries, Van Artevelde had almost disappeared from the collective memory, until Hendrik Conscience revived the myth of the popular hero with a novel dedicated to him... and the people of Ghent believed that their Jacob deserved a statue.
Source: "Gent, stad van uprising", Lut Depaepe, 2023