What a difference one thousand sixty-eight years makes.  It was that long ago that a wooden church was founded, and where now St. Bavo’s Cathedral stands as the highlight of Gent, Belgium (also known as Ghent).  That wooden church was dedicated to St. John and was first replaced by a Roman church, dating back to 1038 or only nine hundred and seventy two years ago.  Part of that church may still be found in the crypt; only a few centuries later, work began on a Gothic church, and, as these things go, that work continued for another two hundred years.  In 1353, the choir  was consecrated,  even though the choir chapels weren’t finished until the early 15th Century.  Over the days and weeks and months and years and centuries, tghe nave arose until Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, baptized the church in 1500, and it still wasn’t finished.  The church was renamed St. Bavo Church in the 1500s (this particular saint was a nobleman from the 7th Century, who became a monk after giving away everything he had to the poor).  In 1561, when the diocese of Gent was established, it transformed the church into a cathedral.

Outside the cathedral, you’ll find a mix of a number of styles — Baroque, Gothic, Roman — but most eye-catching will be the central tower rising on the western end.  Inside, you’ll find a Gothic interior and religious art.  The pulpit is amazing, constructed in the Baroque style and may remind you of Bernini.  The organ, also Baroque, was built in 1653, but it’s the art work by Rubens and Jan van Eyck and the Brothers Hubert (Conversion of St. Bavo and The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, respectively) that will impress visitors the most.

If you find yourself in one of the hotels Gent provides to its travelers, take in St. Bavo first.  After that, you may wish to explore Gravensteen Castle, for an excellent view of Gent and St. Bavo’s Cathedral.

St. Bavo in Gent is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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