St. Bavo's Cathedral

St. Bavo’s is a massive stone timeline. To really get it, you have to start in the basement. The crypt still smells of 12th-century dampness; it’s the original Romanesque church of St. John the Baptist. When Ghent got rich from the cloth trade, they simply built a Gothic masterpiece right on top of it.

The Van Eyck Masterpiece

The cathedral’s worldwide fame rests on "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb." Completed in 1432, this polyptych is a survivor. It was stolen by Napoleon, hidden during WWI, and looted by Nazis before being found in an Austrian salt mine. Seeing it today is as much a lesson in history as it is in Flemish Renaissance art.

Baroque Contrast

Beyond the Gothic vaults, the cathedral surprises with Baroque theatricality. The "Pulpit of Truth," carved from white Carrara marble and dark oak, stands as a feat of movement in the center of the nave. With original Rubens paintings still hanging in the side chapels, the space remains the living artistic heart of the city.