The St. Michael's Church was first mentioned as an independent parish church in 1147 and earlier mention of a church dates from 1105. In the 17th century, a project was started by the local guilds to built an enormous tower that would surpass the one at Antwerp by at least 10 meters, that project was finally abandoned in the 1820s. Among its treasures is a fine altar piece by Van Dyck, as well as some very interesting modern stained glass windows by Michel Martens.
St. Nicholas Church is one of the oldest buildings in the city of Ghent. Built in the 13th and 14th centuries on the site of an old Romanesque church, the church displays a particular form of Gothic style: the Scheldt Gothic.
Ghent Cathedral was built in its present form in the 13th century, but the oldest mention of the church dates back to the 10th century. The choir dates from the 14th century, the massive Gothic tower was built between 1462 and 1538 and the nave dates from the 16th century. The church did not become a cathedral until 1559. Every year the cathedral attracts many tourists for the works of art it houses, including Van Eijck's "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb". The crypt, with its wall paintings, is the oldest part of the church. It is a remnant of the old Romanesque church that preceded the Gothic church.
The old Beguinage of Saint Elizabeth, dating back to 1234, owes its name to Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia. Over the centuries, the beguinage has developed into a small town with more than 100 beguine houses. The beguinage was abandoned in 1873 for the new Grand Beguinage Sint-Amandsberg, just outside the city centre.
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