Saint Bavo’s Cathedral

The Saint Bavo Cathedral

The Ghent audio-guided tour leads you to the Saint Bavo Cathedral, one of the undisputed symbols of the city, which houses a world-famous masterpiece.

Five centuries of construction and a treasure

In the Middle Ages, Ghent, flourishing and influential, engaged in the construction of ever vaster religious buildings: thus the former Romanesque church of Saint John was metamorphosed into the immense Gothic cathedral of Saint Bavo, a transformation that lasted some five hundred years. While the Gothic dominates, Romanesque elements remain in the crypt and its twenty-two altars. The oldest parish church of Ghent and the baptismal place of Charles V, the cathedral holds treasures signed De Crayer, Pourbus or Rubens. But no work equals that of the Van Eyck brothers, "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb", an immense polyptych composed of twelve panels, one of the major masterpieces of Western art.

What there is to see

The Saint Bavo Cathedral invites contemplation through its Gothic scale, its Romanesque crypt and its works by great masters. The height of emotion remains "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by the Van Eyck brothers, a jewel of Flemish painting. The baptismal place of Charles V, it is a high spiritual and artistic place, to be discovered in the heart of Ghent.

Practical information

The Saint Bavo Cathedral is on the Sint-Baafsplein, in the historic centre of Ghent. A place of worship, it can be visited with respect for the services; access to the Van Eyck polyptych may be subject to particular conditions, to be checked on site.

What masterpiece does the Saint Bavo Cathedral house?

"The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by the Van Eyck brothers, a world-famous polyptych of twelve panels.

What famous figure was baptised there?

Charles V, one of the most powerful monarchs of the early sixteenth century, was baptised in the Saint Bavo Cathedral.