Sint-Baafskathedraal

Ghent


This cathedral's towering interior has some fine stained glass and an unusual combination of brick vaulting with stone tracery. A €0.20 leaflet guides you round the cathedral’s numerous art treasures, including a big original Rubens opposite the stairway that leads down into the partly muralled crypts. However, most visitors come to see just one magnificent work – the Van Eyck brothers' 1432 Flemish Primitive masterpiece, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb.

It’s kept in a special temperature-controlled, half-darkened chapel near the west entrance. If you don’t want to queue to see the original, a photographic copy is displayed for free in side-chapel 30, the sixth on the right beside the altar.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Ghent attractions

1. The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

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Art enthusiasts swarm the Sint-Baafskathedraal to glimpse The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (De Aanbidding van het Lams God), a lavish representation of…

2. Belfort

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Ghent’s Unesco-listed 14th-century belfry (91m) is topped by a large dragon weathervane: he's become something of a city mascot. You’ll meet two previous…

3. Statue of Van Eyck Brothers

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This statue of the creators of Ghent's world-renowned Adoration of the Mystic Lamb was unveiled here for the 1913 World Expo.

4. Geeraard de Duivelsteen

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5. Stadhuis

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6. Werregarenstraat

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7. Korenmarkt

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8. St-Jacobskerk

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