A fight for a decent existence

Ghent was the biggest industrial Flemish town in the 19th century, but the living conditions of the labourers were often appalling. They were tightly-housed and underpaid. The onset of the social revolution….

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Walk through the alleys and along the working-class houses in which labourers lived in the nineteenth century. In some of these one-room dwellings up to six people lived and slept. Finally, the workers united in a struggle for better working conditions, higher wages and a decent existence.

The Vrijdagmarkt was the scene of the workers’ revolt. The guide does not only tell you all about this grim aspect of a worker’s life but also about the party halls and theatres for the working class. Even then life was not only doom and gloom! This tour clarifies the tough life of the blue collars in the turbulent nineteenth century.

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