The weekend crowds were larger than expected. "People's reactions were great," said Frederik Verstraete of the museum known as STAM (for Stad Museum, or City Museum). "We heard a lot of people say they'd like to come back and dig a little deeper, and that's good to hear." At one point, the crowds were so dense that entry was restricted to 200 people every 15 minutes.

One of the main attractions was a gigantic aerial photo of the city, blown up to 260 square metres - large enough, they say, for everyone to find their own house. But the exhibits at STAM go back to the very first settlements at the confluence of the Leie and Scheldt Rivers, through the Middle Ages and the industrial 19th century to the present day. "The museum is meant to be interesting to tourists as
well as the people of Ghent," said museum director Christine De Weerdt.

www.stamgent.be