Named for a local saint, Saint Bavo's Cathedral, with its Gothic tower, rises high above the town center. A church or abbey has stood on the site since 942 CE, playing a pivotal role in European history, including the baptism of Charles V. The cathedral is home to a number of masterworks by local artists, such as Hubert and Jan van Eyck, as well as Justus van Gent. Don't miss Van Eyck's masterpiece "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb," displayed in a prominent position inside the chapel, and "Saint Bavo enters the Convent at Ghent" by Peter Paul Rubens, on the cathedral's walls. Visit the cathedral's website for notifications of choral concerts and regular services. To visit Saint Bavo's Cathedral and other attractions in Ghent, use our Ghent online journey planner.
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Saint Bavo's Cathedral reviews
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You can spend 10 minutes or 2 hours here, free to enter and even more shockingly grand inside than outside, definitely worth a visit if you are Gent more »
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This is the church to visit in Ghent if time permits. Its beautifully built and has nice interior furnishing as well. Shouldn't take more than 30 mins to visit this. more »
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Watch out for Corona in the Van Eyck mini expo Lamb of God The Van Eyck expo in the MSK museum made us want to see the Lamb of God panels the in the Cathedral as well. Beautifully exhibited behind a glass Wall where you can come closer than ever to the magnificent works ... BUT the audio device passed from one to another without being disinfected and we were all too closely packed together. On hindsight, I should maybe nor have visited this venue so easy for a virus to be passed on.
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The cathedral is pretty, with an interesting combination of stone and bricks. Overall an enjoyable visit, and they also have the famous mystic lamb piece. However they charge 4 euros to see it, which I think is extremely overpriced so I didn't pay to go in (and hence can't comment on whether it's worth the hype - it's probably not though.)
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