Saint Bavo's Cathedral

Saint Bavo's Cathedral (Dutch: Sint Baafskathedraal) is a Roman Catholic church located in Ghent, Belgium. The cathedral was originally a wooden structure known as the Church of Saint John the Baptist. In the 11th century, the wooden church was rebuilt in Romanesque style, and then gradually expanded into Gothic style from the 14th to the 16th century. It was renamed Saint Bavo's Church in the 16th century when the monks of the Saint Bavo Abbey moved there. Later, it became the cathedral of the Ghent diocese. The cathedral is famous for the Ghent Altarpiece, officially known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, named after the central panel of the lower part of the altarpiece. This work was completed by Jan van Eyck and is one of the most important works of the early Northern Renaissance. The interior of the church retains the natural color of red bricks. The nave mixes Gothic columns and ribbed vaults, ornate altars and screens, numerous lifelike statues and paintings. Most striking are the numerous exquisite and beautiful stained glass windows. My association with Belgium is always the low-hanging clouds and the long drizzle, and the Gothic churches here echo this environment. Fortunately, with these colorful stained glass windows, the solemn and gloomy atmosphere inside the cold stone walls of the church seems to be lessened a bit.