The changing cityscape is an important focus of the museum's collection policy. The collection of painted city views is therefore regularly expanded. In 2024, STAM acquired several paintings by Jacques Bergmans (1891-1959), including a view of the café ‘A la Ville d'Audenarde’.
‘A la Ville d'Audenarde’ was located on the corner of the Kortrijksesteenweg and Baliestraat, not far from Jacques Bergmans’ home in Smidsestraat. The café served as a hiding place for resistance members and Allied soldiers during the First World War. It is best known as the place where British nurse Edith Cavell (1865-1915) stayed. She worked at a Red Cross hospital in Brussels, where she cared for both German and Allied soldiers. From this position, she was able to gather information for British intelligence and help Allied troops escape. Shortly after her stay in Ghent, she was arrested by the occupier and executed.
Commemorative plaque Edith Cavell in Ghent, 2014 © Paul Drieghe
In honour of Edith Cavell, a commemorative plaque was placed on the café's facade in 1924. This plaque is now the only remaining reminder of these events, as the café has since been demolished and replaced by an apartment building.
