An old factory building in Ghent, is where Belgium's largest indoor bouldering hall will open this autumn. More than 200 different climbing courses will be on offer. Bouldering is a style of free climbing on small rock formations or artificial climbing walls. No ropes are used. Since 2021 bouldering has become an Olympic discipline. Flanders is investing over a quarter of a million euros in the new hall.
The new climbing centre will be housed in the Galveston Building on the Wiedauw Quay in Ghent (East Flanders). This industrial building was constructed in 1910. It was a textile mill, named after the Texan port from where cotton was shipped to Europe. From the 1950s, the industry was in decline; the factory closed in 1999. The building was repurposed, with a rooftop restaurant, a boxing club, a space for paintball and an indoor playground.
Olympic sport since 2021
Now a bouldering hall will be added. "It will be the biggest in the country with 1,250 square metres of climbing area," say brothers Bram and Pieter Bruyland, founders of Paintball Gent. "Bouldering is popular and Ghent's climbing gyms are overcrowded. Especially since it became an Olympic sport in 2021. Belgian Hannes van Duysen qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris. That will give the sport an extra boost."
The word 'boulder' literally means rock. The sport has evolved from a preparation for outdoor rock climbing to a sport in its own right. "We are enthusiastic boulderers ourselves," say Bram and Pieter. "Since our location is perfectly suited, we decided to move on from the paintball episode and take on a new challenge."
The investment amounts to just under 1.2 million euros. The Flemish government will contribute 269,000 euros, about 23 per cent of the outlay. The new climbing gym should open at the end of October under the name 'Walden'.