A mostly wooden chapel of St. John the Baptist was consecrated on the site in 942, and traces of a Romanesque structure survive in the crypt. Gothic construction began around 1274. From the 14th to the 16th centuries came a new choir, radiating chapels, enlarged transepts, aisles and a single western tower. The diocese was founded in 1559, and construction was considered complete on June 7, 1569. The article names no architect.
The cathedral is 292 feet (89 m) tall. Calvinist iconoclasts destroyed stained glass, statues and paintings in 1566. The Baroque high altar was made from 1702 to 1782, and the Rococo pulpit from 1741 to 1745.
It houses the Ghent Altarpiece, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, attributed to Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The panel The Just Judges was stolen in 1934 and has not been recovered, and a facsimile replaces it. The article gives no ticket details.
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