Ghent was a perfect quick day trip from Brussels and a MUST do on my art history bucket list because of the famous Ghent Altarpiece, but there were a lot of other redeeming factors about it! Plus it has two UNESCO Sites: Belfries of Belgium and France & Flemish Béguinages.
St. Bavo Cathedral
We started off at 11 am high mass in the Ghent Cathedral, which cool enough was located in the crypt. Although I do not understand a lick of Dutch, Catholic mass is the same all over the world so I could follow along with my English. St. Bavo’s Cathedral contains the Ghent Altarpiece. There is way too much to talk about the piece here but there is an audio guide that everyone was listening to (I opted out). Anyways, even knowing nothing about the artist or the time period the detail and intense skill demonstrated in the Ghent Altarpiece is enough to blow you away. It also helps that the Ghent Altarpiece was featured in the Monuments Men story.
Read more: Catholic Culture: Traveling during Lent
Béguinages
The Béguinages were enclosed communities of a women called Béguines (similar to nuns). This unique living style began in the 13th century for these unmarried or widowed women to entered into a life dedicated to God, but without retiring from the world like a traditional cloistered nun. They are in the middle of cities but entirely apart from them, like another world. Ghent’s Béguinages are part of a larger UNESCO Site. From my brief research, it seems as if this order for women does not exist anymore. Can’t say I am surprised.
The Béguines were women who dedicated their lives to God without retiring from the world. In the 13th century they founded the béguinages, enclosed communities designed to meet their spiritual and material needs. The Flemish béguinages are architectural ensembles composed of houses, churches, ancillary buildings and green spaces, with a layout of either urban or rural origin and built in styles specific to the Flemish cultural region. They are a fascinating reminder of the tradition of the Béguines that developed in north-western Europe in the Middle Ages.
Read more: UNESCO: Flemish Béguinages
Belfry
Belfries are unassuming buildings with great historical significance; the Ghent Belfry is part of a larger UNESCO Site of the Belfries of Belgium and France. These Belfries were built between the 11th and 17th centuries and they represented the growing urban influence on Northern Europe, namely the power of the merchant class.
Built between the 11th and 17th centuries, they showcase the Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles of architecture. They are highly significant tokens of the winning of civil liberties. While Italian, German and English towns mainly opted to build town halls, in part of north-western Europe, greater emphasis was placed on building belfries. Compared with the keep (symbol of the seigneurs) and the bell-tower (symbol of the Church), the belfry, the third tower in the urban landscape, symbolizes the power of the aldermen.
Read more: UNESCO World Heritage Sites List
Food: Confiserie Temmerman Candy Shop & French Fries
So I don’t normally go out of my way to see candy shops but Ghent is small enough that we made a point to walk into Confiserie Temmerman’s shop located on 79 Kraanlei. Although tiny by any American standards this place was filled with walls of jars of candies, very Willy Wonka! I didn’t buy any because (gasp!) I don’t like candy, I am much more partial to dark chocolate. This stop was listed in Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe on their “Top Ten Old-Fashioned Candy Stores.” Funny enough we did not have french fries in Ghent, but according to the same National Geographic book linked above, Frituur Jozef is a fantastic place to get some piping hot fries while walking around.
Read more: Foods of Belgium & the Dutch
JMF
