200 Years of Ghent University

The emblem of Ghent University with the dates 1817–2017, surrounded by the inscription '200 JAAR UNIVERSITEIT GENT — 200 YEARS GHENT UNIVERSITY' and the country code 'BE'. The Brussels mint mark, the helmeted head of Archangel Michael, and the mint directors' mark (the arms of Herzele) are placed to the right and left of the country code respectively.

When William I of the Netherlands founded the University of Ghent in 1817, he was following a political logic: the then United Kingdom of the Netherlands needed a state university in the southern part of the country, present-day Belgium, one that could counterbalance the francophone dominance of the education system. Ghent, a Flemish trading city at the confluence of the Leie and the Scheldt, was the natural choice. In the 19th century the university developed into the first higher education institution in Europe to teach entirely in Dutch, from 1930 onwards - a milestone in the long struggle for linguistic equality for the Flemish in Belgium. This decision made the University of Ghent, as it is known in Dutch, a touchstone of Flemish identity far beyond its academic mission.

Today, Ghent University, with around 50,000 students, is one of the largest and most research-intensive universities in Belgium. Its traditional strengths lie in the life sciences, engineering and medicine; international rankings regularly place it among the world's top two hundred universities. The historic campus in the centre of Ghent, with its neoclassical Aula building as a landmark, is architecturally and symbolically closely woven into the city's history. Belgium honoured the university's 200th anniversary in 2017 with a 2-euro commemorative coin - a jubilee that recalls both the country's academic history and the cultural-political significance of Dutch-language higher education in Flanders.