Sint-Baafskathedraal

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About Sint-Baafskathedraal

The Sint-Baafskathedraal, the cathedral of Saint Bavo, is located on Sint-Baafsplein, opposite the Belfort. The Gothic building began to rise around 1274 over earlier churches, and the works were considered complete in 1569. The tower is about 89 metres high. Initially it was the church of Saint John the Baptist; it became a cathedral in 1559 when Gante received a bishop.

The reason for the queue at the door is the altarpiece Het Lam Gods, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. The work was painted in oil on oak panels by the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck and installed in 1432. It was commissioned by the merchant Joos Vijd and his wife Elisabeth Borluut, who are depicted on the outer panels. Closed, the altarpiece shows the Annunciation; opened, the scene of the adoration of the lamb, with dozens of figures in minute detail.

Het Lam Gods has a history of looting and travel. It was taken to Paris during the French Revolution and returned in 1815. In 1934, the panel of the Just Judges was stolen and never recovered: what is seen today is a copy. During the Second World War, the Nazis took the work to Germany, and it was found in a salt mine in Altaussee, Austria, in 1945.

The altarpiece is housed in a visitor center inside the cathedral, with a paid entrance and augmented-reality glasses that tell the story of the work and show the Romanesque crypt. Outside the visitor center, the nave is free to enter: note the rococo pulpit by Laurent Delvaux in oak, gilded wood and white and black marble, and the Rubens painting showing Saint Bavo entering the convent in Gante.