Rooseveltplaats

The inhabitants of Ronsen call this square "the lake". That's because in the Middle Ages there was a large watering hole for horses. You are standing here on a former medieval trade road that ran from Ath and Saint Sauveur to Oudenaarde and Ghent. Goods were also unloaded and loaded here for the traders and market vendors.

That striking work of art at the crossroads refers to that past. It is a work by the German artist Christian Tobin who also created works of art for other international cities. The "Dancing stones on the water" symbolize the dynamic between water and stone.

To our right runs the Wijnstraat, it connects in a straight line the "lake" with "de Steenbrugge", which today is the Aimé Delhayeplein. Take a look not at the shops but at the facades above. Some have great historical value.
That shopping street used to have a different name: the "Thuynstraete". That name does not refer, as many think, to the gardens of Nassau Castle that stood a short distance away.
This huge castle - it had as many windows as days in a year - is no longer there. But I mention it because it was important in the creation of the textile industry in Ronse. It is closely related to Ghent's textile history. When textile machines were smuggled from England to the mainland, the Ghent industrialists Lousbergs started a textile company in the cellars of that castle in 1803. It was the first time in Ronse's history that 280 workers worked together in a factory.
The castle was demolished in 1820, but that did not mean the end of the textile industry. On the contrary. It was only the first step towards an industry that had an enormous economic and social impact in Ronse.

The Peperstraat on the left is one of the oldest shopping streets in Ronse. She was already there in the Middle Ages and even then goods were sold. Expensive pepper, for example. Hence the expression "very expensive"!

Now continue to the roundabout with the star. There you turn right into the Hoogstraat.

Stop at the corner, I want to show you something. Take a look to the left. The corner building on the Oude Vesten has beautiful tile panels that date back to the beginning of the 20th century. The faience tile panels with flowers and an angel refer to the bakery that used to have its shop here.
When you have walked into the Hoogstraat, take the first street on the left. That is the Fostierlaan.

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