The welcome reception, supported by the Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen, will take place on Sunday 28th June 2015 from 16h00 till 18h00 in the 'Groot Vleeshuis' (Great Butcher's Hall) in the historical city centre of Ghent. Registration for the congress can be done during the reception.
Address: Groot Vleeshuis, Groentenmarkt 7, 9000 Gent
The Groot Vleeshuis was designed by Gillis De Sutter and built between 1407 and 1419. Meat houses were covered markets where sales were centralised in order to check the meat's freshness and quality. Private sales at home were forbidden. Sixteen tripe stores were built onto the south-eastern side of the Groot Vleeshuis between 1542 and 1543. For reasons of hygiene, these separate stores had to be used for the sale of entrails, skin, and other remains from slaughtered animals.
The Groot Vleeshuis has a splendid and remarkable truss. A chapel with three large pointed arch windows was constructed in the building between 1446 and 1448. The chapel contains a 15th century wall painting which depicts a Worship Service.
From the end of the 19th century, it was also possible to sell meat at home. The Groot Vleeshuis was then used for various other purposes; it became a post office, storage depot, exhibition area, and a banquet hall in that order. It is now used as a covered market for regional tourism and products.
Groot Vleeshuis - © Visit Gent