Story
The story of St Bavo's Cathedral
This cathedral holds one of the greatest artistic masterpieces of Belgium: the Ghent Altarpiece, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Look closely at the lowest left panel, The Just Judges.
It was stolen in 1934 and has never been recovered; what you see is a copy by Jef Van der Veken. The church grew from a mostly wooden chapel of St. John the Baptist, consecrated in 942, and Gothic construction began around 1274. Emperor Charles V was baptised here, and after the rebellion against him the old Abbey of St. Bavo was dissolved in 1539. When the Diocese of Ghent was founded in 1559, the church became its cathedral.
In the summer of 1566 Calvinist iconoclasts smashed windows, statues and paintings, but the altarpiece by the Van Eycks was saved. Look out too for Rubens' painting of Saint Bavo entering the convent, the Rococo pulpit by Laurent Delvaux, and the main organ, the biggest in the Low Countries.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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More highlights in Ghent
- VrijdagmarktThe Vrijdagmarkt is a city square in the historic centre of Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium. It is named after the weekly tradition to stage a market every Friday morning.
- GravensteenThe Gravensteen is a medieval castle in the city of Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium.
- Huis van AlijnThe Huis van Alijn is a museum located on the Kraanlei in Ghent, Belgium. The collection revolves around local culture and daily life in the 20th century.
- PatersholOld quarter of about 4.5 hectares in the historic centre of Ghent that has kept its medieval street pattern.
- Saint Nicholas' ChurchSt. Nicholas Church is a Roman Catholic church, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent landmarks in Ghent, Belgium.
- Belfry of GhentThe Belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, Belgium; the other two belonging to Saint Bavo's Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church.