Laid out along the Leie river, close to the mouth in the Scheldt, the site is considered one of the oldest of Ghent, dating back to the fifth century A.D. when Ghent was the center of the wheat trade in the County of Flanders. Most of the current houses on the Graslei date back to the Middle Ages, although the monumental façades have been heavily modified in the 18th and 19th century and were restored in anticipation of the 1913 World's Fair hosted by Ghent.