There are 5 Monumental Churches of Ghent! I managed to 2 of those. One of the most important sites in Ghent is the St.Bavo’s Cathedral. Located just beside the Belfry, this is the oldest Parish Church in Ghent. Originally this was the site of a 10th C chapel of St.John the Baptist consecrated by Transmarus bishop of Tournai and Noyon in 942. By 12th C, a Romanesque church was built here. The present church is the Gothic architecture built in 1559. Today this is the principal church of the diocese of Ghent.
Even before I entered the church, there, at the entrance arch, the slots were not filled with sculptures! It’s left half way through as a masterpiece in making! The high rise ceiling and the arches of the Gothic church are so stunning! The stained glass windows are masterpieces!
However what caught my eye was the organ, made in 1653 in Lille. One more organ was added in 1935 in Germany. It has 3000 pipes and 5 keyboards. I was really lucky to actually listen to how amazing the sound was, with a man playing music on this! It was just magical. I got so engrossed in the music that it totally slipped my mind to take video of it to share with you guys here! Exploring the whole church, I went over to the crypt and it took way too much time for me to get out of the crypt! Those who read my blog regularly know that, anything that older, catches my attention so much more. The crypt still has frescoes dating back to 12th C CE (contemporary of Canterbury!). Those were in various level of deterioration, but I was just floored to see frescoes, so old!!! The only one older Christian fresco than this I’ve seen was in Duomo di Milano of 8th C CE… The reason that this is the most visited Cathedral in Ghent is because it houses the art ‘Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ by Hubrecht and Jan van Eyck. Most definitely a gorgeous masterpiece painted in 1420s-30s. It’s an oil on wood artwork that opens & closes. Every day from 12:00noon to 1:00PM, this is kept closed to appreciate the restoration efforts, otherwise is open to be mesmerized by Van Eyck brothers. Originally this was the altarpiece of the church, however today it’s in a protected room with controlled light & humidity! The other church of the 5 Monumental Churches of Ghent that I visited was St.Michael’s Church. This was one humongous church!!! This was the original location of St.Bavo’s Abbey in 11th C CE! However no material remains of the original church. The present structure is an early Gothic structure that began in 1440 CE. However, the construction didn’t get over till 1825!!! Inspite of going through Renaissance and Baroque periods, the architecture remained purely Gothic!
The pulpit belongs to 1846 after the original one of 1696 was destroyed in French revolution. The marble sculpture is of the healing of Jericho's blind. Another feature of the church is the Rowing Boards which are rhombus shaped mourning boards. Since 1784 CE, Joseph II prohibited burying the dead in the church as well within city limits. So people were buried out of the city limits and a mourning board was placed in the church. The church also houses some gorgeous masterpieces of Flemish Renaissance masters. Golgotha of Anthony Van Dyck, Awakening of Lazarus, by Otto Van Veen etc, all painted in 1500s and 1600s. The best part - entry to this church is free and to see these with your own eyes, doesn’t require another extra ticket!!!! To Stay:
Hotels at all price points are available in Ghent City Centre.
To Get There:To Ghent: Refer to my earlier postLocal transport in Ghent possible with bus & tram (incl in the City Card Ghent All in).
Timings:
St. Bavo’s Cathedral: Mon-Sat 8:30AM to 6:00PM & Sun 1:00PM to 6:00PM in Summers (Closes 1 hr earlier in Winters)
Adoration of Mystic Lamb: Mon-Sat 9:30AM to 5:00PM & from 1:00PM in Summers (Opens 1 hr late & closes 1 hr earlier in Winters)
St. Michael’s Church: 2.00PM to 5:00PM
Entry Ticket:
St.Bavo’s Cathedral & St.Michael’s Church: Free
Adoration of Mystic Lamb: €4 (incl audio guide).
Entry is included in City Card Ghent All in, but €1 is to be paid for the audio guide.P.S: I was invited by VisitGent to experience the city and hosted by Historic Hotels Belgium for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service. 
