Gent Places Explanatory Plaques at Colonial Statue Sites Across City
The city of Gent (Ghent), Belgium, has installed explanatory plaques at seven locations throughout the city where colonial traces remain, including the former site of a bust of King Leopold II. The plaques, which cost approximately €10,000 to design, produce, and install, provide historical context and explicitly honor the victims of Belgian colonialism as part of a broader “decolonial walking route” (dekoloniaal parcours).
Context and Background
Belgium’s colonial history remains deeply contested. King Leopold II ruled the Congo Free State as his private possession from 1885 to 1908, a period during which millions of Congolese died due to forced labor, violence, and disease in the rubber and ivory trades. Belgium subsequently administered the territory as the Belgian Congo until independence in 1960, and also ruled Rwanda and Burundi from 1916 to 1962.
Since the global Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, Belgium has seen intensified debate over colonial monuments. Statues of Leopold II were removed, vandalized, or contextualized in multiple cities. In Gent, the Leopold II bust in Zuidpark was removed in June 2020 after being vandalized multiple times with red paint. The city later renamed Koning Leopold II-laan to Floraliënlaan in 2022.
The Plaque Initiative
The plaques were designed by Collectif Faire-Part, an organization with experience in decolonization awareness campaigns, according to VRT NWS. Each plaque begins with the same opening line: “Ter ere van de slachtoffers van Belgisch kolonialisme plaatsen we het hiernaast staande koloniale spoor in context” (“In honor of the victims of Belgian colonialism, we place the adjacent colonial trace in context”). QR codes on each plaque link to a website with more detailed information.
The seven locations span a range of colonial traces across the city:
- The former site of the Leopold II bust in Zuidpark (removed in 2020)
- The Sakala statue in Citadelpark
- The King Boudewijn statue in Citadelpark
- The Paul de Smet de Naeyer bust in Paul de Smet de Naeyer park
- Floraliënlaan (formerly Koning Leopold II-laan, renamed in 2022)
- Gebroeders Vandeveldestraat
- The Colonial Rubber nv building at Stropkaai 8
At the site where the Leopold II bust once stood, a sculpture honoring resistance fighters and victims of Belgian colonialism has been installed. The bust itself is currently on loan to the exhibition ‘Postkoloniaal’ at the House of European History in Brussels and will later return to the STAM museum in Gent, as VRT NWS reported.
Official Statements
Hafsa El-Bazioui, Gent’s schepen (alderman) for Mondiale Solidariteit (Global Solidarity) from the Groen party, described the initiative as a step toward acknowledgment and dialogue. “Door duiding te geven bij koloniale sporen erkennen we het leed dat veroorzaakt werd en creëren we ruimte voor dialoog en bewustwording,” she said, as reported by Groen Gent. “Gent wil een stad zijn die leert uit het verleden om een rechtvaardige toekomst op te bouwen.”
The city government emphasized that a critical and honest view of both the past and the colonial present is essential, according to the Stad Gent official page.
Analysis and Implications
Gent’s approach represents a middle ground between complete removal of colonial symbols and leaving them uncontextualized. Rather than simply removing monuments, the city has pursued a “contextualization” strategy: keeping some colonial traces while adding explanatory plaques, renaming streets through participatory processes, and creating a guided decolonial walking route.
The HLN report noted that guided walking tours will begin in September 2026, allowing school groups and other visitors to explore the sites with professional guides. The city is still determining which organization will lead these tours.
The initiative builds on earlier steps — the 2020 bust removal and the 2022 street renaming — demonstrating sustained municipal commitment to addressing colonial heritage. Gent’s approach may serve as a model for other Belgian and European cities grappling with similar questions about how to handle contested colonial monuments in public spaces.
What’s Next
With the plaques now installed, the city will focus on launching the guided walking tours planned for September 2026. The broader debate over Belgium’s colonial legacy continues at the national level, with parliamentary commissions examining the country’s colonial past and growing public discourse on decolonization. Gent’s multi-faceted approach — combining removal, renaming, and contextualization — positions it as a leading city in Belgium’s ongoing reckoning with its colonial history.