Ghent

Brev had a day off last week, so we were able to visit Ghent!

We had a great time walking around and sightseeing. Ghent is a charming university city with lots of canals and things to see, like The Castle of the Counts (a medieval castle built by the Count Philip of Alsacein in 1180) and the Ghent Belfry tower.

Our favorite part of the day was visiting St. Bavo’s Cathedral, a 10th century Romanesque church that was converted during the 15th and 16th centuries to the Gothic style.

The cathedral is home to the world-famous Ghent Altarpiece (1432), “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” by the Van Eyck brothers. Hubert van Eyck started the Ghent Altarpiece but sadly passed away, so his younger brother (and pioneer of Flemish painting and oil paint master) Jan completed it.

“The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” is a symbol of Christ and Christ’s death. It’s made up of 18 panels and depicts scenes from the Bible. It also has portraits of the church warden, Joos Vijd and his wife, who commissioned the altarpiece.

The altarpiece has survived transportation, changes in temperature and humidity, attacks with a saw, fire damage, and thieves (and one of its panels is still missing today).

On our tour of the cathedral, we were given VR goggles to explore the crypt of the cathedral and learn more about the Ghent Altarpiece. It was a lot of fun!