Gand- Ghent, Belgium

From the wiki:

"The 91-metre-high belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, Belgium, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Through the centuries, it has served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower^[1] and town treasury.
Construction of the tower began in 1313 to the design of master mason Jan van Haelst, whose plans are still preserved in a museum. After continuing intermittently through wars, plagues and political turmoil, the work reached completion in 1380. It was near the end of this period that the gilded dragon, brought from Bruges,^[1] assumed its place atop the tower. The uppermost parts of the building have been rebuilt several times, in part to accommodate the growing number of bells.
The primary bell in the tower, Roland, was the one used by citizens to warn of an enemy approaching or a battle won.^[1] "Roland has become almost a person to the people of Belgium. He is a patriot, a hero, a leader in all rebellion against unrighteous authority."^[1] Upon conquering Belgium, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor ordered the removal of Roland. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow referred to Roland in one of his poems:

Till the bell of Ghent responded o'er lagoon and dike of sand,
I am Roland! I am Roland! there is victory in the land!

The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List."



This postcard would have been circa 1900 or so; hard to tell without dates on the postcards themselves (these weren't postmarked, and were in a batch).

You can take a tour of the tower still: there is a Bell Museum, open daily from 10- 6.

Gand Saint-Bavo's Cathedral -Ghent

The postcard for today comes from Gand (anglicized version of the name) of Gent , Belgium, and the Cathedral of Saint-Bavo.

Apparently, there was some interesting business that ensued after WWI, in which the Germans returned artwork that they had stolen, along with some that were legitimately purchased (by the King of Prussia) as 'recompense' for their destruction during the war. This of course annoyed them, and they set about re-stealing it about twenty years later, and hiding it in a salt mine. Bafflingly persistent, those Germans.

In this postcard, the main piece, van Eyck's Het Lam Gods, is absent, as it would not have been returned (yet) or restolen (by Hilter).

You can read more about the exciting times of the art of Saint-Bavon here, and about the mystery surronding the Ghent Altarpiece's whereabouts here.

For an almost identical shot of the interior as it stands, please visit the site for Sint-Baafskathedraal Gent. It's a wonderful site, and hopefully I'll be able to see this places in person one day.