132 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

In the 9th century, Baldwin Iron-Arm, the first
Count of Flanders, laid the foundations of
Ghent when he built a castle to protect two
abbeys from Viking raids. Ghent’s historic
centre was originally built during the 13th
and 14th centuries, when the city pros-
pered as a result of the cloth trade. Despite
the many religious and dynastic conflicts,
Ghent flourished throughout the 16th
and early 17th centuries. After 1648,
the Dutch sealed the Scheldt estuary
near Antwerp, closing vital canal links, which led to a
dec line in the fortunes of both cities. The 19th-century
boom in cotton spinning reinvigorated Ghent and led
to the building of wide boulevards in the city’s south.
Today, textiles still feature in Ghent’s industry, while
its university lends a youthful vibrancy to city life.

R St-Baafskathedraal
St-Baafsplein. Tel (09) 2251626.

daily. Adoration of the Mystic

Lamb # Apr–Oct: 9:30am–5pm
Mon–Sat, 1–5pm Sun; Nov–Mar:
10:30am–4pm Mon–Sat, 1–4pm
Sun. & 7 http://www.
sintbaafskathedraal-gent.be
St Bavo, who was Ghent’s
own 7th-century saint, left the
life of a wealthy degenerate
to become first a missionary
in Flanders and France and
then a hermit. Built in several
stages, St-Baafskathedraal
repre sents every phase of
Gothic style, from the 13th-
and 14th-century chancel to
the later cavernous nave that
is supported by slender col-
umns. The main attraction
here is van Eyck’s polyptych
Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,
housed in a side chapel.

Tiled flooring forming a maze in the Pacification Hall in Ghent’s Stadhuis

P Belfort

Emile Braunplein. Tel (09) 2330772.

# mid-Mar–mid-Nov: 10am–6pm

daily. & 8 May–Oct.

Ghent’s Belfort (Belfry), a

famed landmark rising 91 m

(299 ft) high to the gilded-

copper dragon on the tip of

its spire, is sit uated between

the cathedral and the town

hall. Originally built in 1380,

the Belfort was restored in the

19th and 20th centuries. Its

bells today include a 54-bell

carillon, which is used to play

tunes to accompany the clock

chimes every 15 min utes, and

for keyboard concerts every

Friday and Sunday at 11:30am.

A lift to its parapet at a height

of 65 m (213 ft) offers mag-

nificent views over the city.

Below the Belfort is the

Lakenhalle (Cloth Hall), a fine

Flemish-Gothic building from

1425 where the city’s cloth-

trade was carried out. The

build ing incorporates a small

town prison; guided tours are

provided on request.

older half dates from the early

16th century and its tracery is

in the elaborate Flamboyant

Gothic style. The plainer,

newer part, which flanks the

Botermarkt, is characteristic of

post-Reformation architecture.

The statues seen in the niches

on the exterior were added in

the 1890s. Among this group

of figures, it is possible to

spot the original architect,

Rombout Keldermans, who

is shown studying his plans.

Gothic towers of St-Niklaaskerk and the Belfort from St-Michielsbrug

Exploring Ghent The building is still the city’s
administrative centre. Guided
tours pass through a series of
rooms, the most fascinating
of which is the Pacification
Hall. This was once the Court
of Justice and the site of the
signing of the Pacification
of Ghent (a treaty between
Catholics and Protestants
under Habsburg rule) in 1576.

R St-Niklaaskerk

St-Veerleplein. # 10am–5pm

Tue–Sun, 2–5pm Mon.

Built by merchants between

the 13th and 15th centuries,

this church was dedicated to

Statue overlooking
the River Leie

P Stadhuis
Botermarkt 1. Tel (09) 2665111. &
8 May–Oct: 3pm Mon–Thu; tours
depart 2:30pm from the tourist office.
The façade of Ghent’s town
hall displays two distinctly
different architectural styles.
Overlooking Hoogstraat, the

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp264–6 and pp288–91