Ghent's Altarpiece

This is the reason I came to Ghent.

The great Altar piece of St. Bavo's Cathedral. 

It is 11 x 15 ft. and contains 12 panels. One was stolen and copied for inclusion in the larger work. Two of the current panels are being restored. (Adam and Eve in the upper right and left corners.)

Over the centuries the altarpiece was stolen and retrieved and even Hitler decided that he wanted it for his collection but it never got further than storage in a salt mine and was recovered after the war by the Monuments Men.

St. Bavo's is a wonderful place.

The pulpit had two stair cases

I enjoyed my time there.

So I walked down the street to The Belfry, a 13th century tower in the center of the medieval city.

If you walk up these stairs.

To the top....you will see this walkway.

And this view (among many).

The picture above is from the upper deck of the 300 ft Belfry Tower....overlooking the Gothic St. Nicholas Church.

I decided to descend.....

I walked into St. Nicholas Church. 

Alas, it was stripped during the Reformation Era by the Iconoclasts and the result is that half of the interior is but a rental hall....and on this day.....a used book fair.

I wasn't sure if this was ingenious or just plain sad.

The other half of St. Nicholas is stripped of its gold, paintings and beauty.

St. Nicholas stripped of paint and decor. (Above)

But the iconoclasts could not reach, nor destroy the furthest reaches of the Gothic Church....like the following photo of the ceiling.

Only that which was closest to God, survived.

There is much to see, like canals.

The simple elegance of my B & B.

The detail of a door handle.

St. Jacob's Church

Peace,  Bob