Inside Sint Niklaaskerk 2

  Back of the altar:

 Stained window:

 Holy Mary:

 Skull:

Saint Nicholas in Sint Niklaaskerk

Saint Nicholas is represented in Sint Niklaaskerk with his usual Christian  with three (naked) boys rising out of a tub. He appears in episcopal robes beardless, in allusion to his youth when consecrated Bishop of Myra.

Inside Sint Niklaaskerk

The nave with the altar:

 

Side aisle facing the main entrance:

Faces on Sint-Niklaaskerk

I don't think many people can notice but there are faces on the tower. No idea who they are or why they are there.

Sint-Niklaaskerk and the Bron der geknielden

After the refurbishment of the Emile Braunplein, among other things a new park with an underground coffee was established. In the park, you can see the bronze monument, the Bron der geknielden (Fountain of the Kneelers). There are five identical naked boys staring in the water. This piece belongs to a series of sculptures depicting the same theme from the Gent-born artist, George Minne. A bronze replica can be found in the garden of the Parliament in Brussels and a plaster version is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Gent.

Sint-Niklaaskerk from above

Panoramic view of the Sint-Niklaaskerk (Saint Nicholas Church) from the Belfort tower. The picture was taken before the refurbishment of the Goudenleeuwplein and Poeljemarkt was completed.

Sint-Niklaaskerk

Sint-Niklaaskerk (St Nicholas' Church) on the Korenmarkt is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, pawnbrokers and students. The Scheldt Gothic style church from the early 13th century is made of blue stone from the region of Tournai. The tower was used as a watchtower until the Belfort (Belfry) took over this task and it is spectacular at nights when it looks like a lantern. More information: http://www.stniklaas.com/.

Next posts

In the next posts, I will go through some of the major tourist attractions in Gent. These places are located in the city center and can be easily covered by a two-hour walk (with enough time to look around and enjoy the sights).

Three towers

Facade detail (Nederkouter- Kanunnikstraat corner).

Three towers

...are used as advertisement for a tattoo parlor on Nederkouter.

Three towers- Gentse tripel

The distinctive image of the three towers are used in many ways to represent the city. You will find it on postcards, souvenirs and... on beer bottles! The Gentse tripel is brewed in the Van Steenberge brewery in Ertvelde. The picture was taken at the corner shop on the Sint-Veerleplein.

More of the three towers

The famous towers at different times of the day.

The three towers

Many guide books recommend as one of the first thing to do in Gent to go to the Sint-Michielsbrug (Saint Michael's bridge) and have a look at the historical center. From this point, the emblematic image of Gent can be seen with the three towers of the Sint-Niklaaskerk (Saint Nicholas Church), the Belfort (Belfry), and the Sint-Baafs Cathedral (Saint Bavo Cathedral).

Intro

Gent (Gand, Ghent), Belgium is a beautiful city with rich history and diverse architecture. I love walking around. Even taking the same routes over and over again there are new details to discover. I would like to show the different faces of this city that might be hidden for visitors or even for locals.

Pictures were taken between 2010 and 2013.