ALOST, or Aalst, a town of Belgium, on the eastern frontier of the province of East Flanders, about midway between Ghent and Brussels. The Dender, a navigable tributary of the Scheldt, passes through the town, which is a clean, well-built place, surrounded by a wall with five gates. The church of St Martin, a fine edifice, although unfinished, contains a celebrated picture by Rubens, “St Roche Praying for the Cessation of the Plague.” Among the other public buildings are a town-hall, which was founded about 1200 a.d., a college, and an hospital. The trade is extensive, chiefly in corn, oil, hops, and beer; and there are linen, lace, and cotton manufactories, and iron foundries of considerable importance. Alost was formerly the capital of imperial Flanders. The French under Turenne took it in 1667, but were obliged to abandon it after the battle of Ramillies in 1706. Population, 19,000.