The Exposition universelle et internationale of 1913 was a World's Fair held in Ghent from 6 April to October.
A number of buildings were completed for the occasion. Notably, Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station was completed in 1912 in time for the exposition,[1] and was situated opposite the new hotel, Flandria Palace.[2] The park, Citadelpark, was also redesigned for the fair. The exposition was held on an area of 130 hectares (320 acres), which was larger than Expo 58 in Brussels.[3] Various Belgian cities had a pavilion and an artificial town, called "Oud Vlaenderen" (Old Flanders) was created.[4]
The four sons of Aymon statue, depicting Reinout, Adelaert, Ritsaert and Writsaert on their horse, Beyaert, was erected on the central approach avenue to the exposition.[5]
In preparation for the exhibition, renovations were made in the centre of Ghent, including a large number of houses on the Graslei.[6][7] Some years beforen the neo gothic St Michael's Bridge had been built to povide visitors to the expo with a vantage point to view the town,[8] the post office[9] and the Korenmarkt (Corn Market) had been built, and the carved heads now arrayed around it represented the rulers who attended the exhibition (including Florence Nightingale).[10] The construction of the exhibition was controversial and ended on the eve of World War I with serious debts.[11]
Belgium's first aerial postage service was operated from 1 May to 25 August by Henri Crombez during the exposition.[12]
| Preceded by Exposition Universelle et Industrielle des Bruxelles (1910) |
World's Fairs held in Belgium 1910 |
Succeeded by simultaneously Exposition internationale coloniale, maritime et d'art flamand (1930) and Exposition of 1930 (Liège) |
