Saint Bavo's Cathedral is the most prominent church in Gent. Initially it was a modest Romanesque wooden church. However, when Charles V was baptised here in 1500 it was rebuilt into a spacious Gothic cathedral, a diocese seat. Despite substantial financial support from the emperor, the cathedral still remained unfinished for 58 years. As a result, the funeral service for the deceased sovereign could not take place here.
All that remains of the original Romanesque church is its historic crypt.
St. Bavo’s Cathedral houses an impressive number of art treasures: the baroque high altar in white, black and red flamed marble, the rococo pulpit in oak, gilded wood and marble, a major work by Rubens, the ‘Calvary Triptych’, attributed to Joos van Wassenhove, alias Justus van Gent, tombs of the Ghent bishops, and much more. However, one work stands out head and shoulders above the rest: the world-famous Adoration of the Mystic Lamb painted by Hubert and Jan van Eyck around 1432.
Restoration of St Bavo’s Cathedral.
Since the spring of 2013, the tower of the Saint Bavo Cathedral has been under scaffolding, undergoing a major overhaul. The tower and four stained glass windows are top of the list.
The works will be carried out from top to bottom and the scaffolding will be taken down as soon as a section has been completed. But that will be some time in coming, because the restoration works won’t be over for at least four years.
All that remains of the original Romanesque church is its historic crypt.
St. Bavo’s Cathedral houses an impressive number of art treasures: the baroque high altar in white, black and red flamed marble, the rococo pulpit in oak, gilded wood and marble, a major work by Rubens, the ‘Calvary Triptych’, attributed to Joos van Wassenhove, alias Justus van Gent, tombs of the Ghent bishops, and much more. However, one work stands out head and shoulders above the rest: the world-famous Adoration of the Mystic Lamb painted by Hubert and Jan van Eyck around 1432.
Restoration of St Bavo’s Cathedral.
Since the spring of 2013, the tower of the Saint Bavo Cathedral has been under scaffolding, undergoing a major overhaul. The tower and four stained glass windows are top of the list.
The works will be carried out from top to bottom and the scaffolding will be taken down as soon as a section has been completed. But that will be some time in coming, because the restoration works won’t be over for at least four years.
