Ghent,Belgium

 

Pulpit in St. Bavo's Cathedral

We drove most of the morning to reach Ghent, Belgium. Mary got off the bus and immediately needed oxygen. While we walked the historic city, she found a convenient bench near St. Bavo’s Cathedral. Later many of us would visit the Cathedral to see the Ghent altar piece, famously recovered from the Nazis in the movie “the Monument Men”. The exterior of the church is gothic, while the interior is Renaissance and Baroque because the original interior was destroyed during the Protestant Revolution. Opposite the Cathedral was the Wool Hall with its bell tower. A dragon protects the city, and soldiers at each corner watch for fire. We went on to the house of the Von Stickle family. They were traders and had a tower to see approaching ships. The houses were built in 1000, 1100, and 1300.

Ghent Altarpiece

The Gravensteen Castle in the center of the city is similar to one built in Syria. The family lived here for 300 years. It later became a courthouse and the nearby square was both a fish market and the execution Square. Then we came to the inner harbor with its guild houses: shippers, grain weighing, the little blue tax house and then grain storage. They charged 20% of the grain for the right to pass. This grain was then sold to the brewers, bakeries, and individuals.

We continued on to Bruges to the Casselbergh Hotel, about 2 blocks from the market square.  We had an orientation walk around the center of the city on our way to dinner.

Bruges City Hall