Brussels
We arrived in Brussels the administrative center of the European Union this morning. With twelve countries already members and at least a half dozen more clamoring to join, Brussels is emerging as a world capital. The city is prospering and that is nowhere more evident than in the many new architectural projects dictated by the needs of the European Union. But Brussels has managed to maintain the new and the old and has one of the loveliest of city squares, the Grand Plaza with almost all of the splendid buildings, built as guild halls, dating from the last decade of the 17th Century.
In the afternoon we visited the beautiful medieval city of Ghent and the outstanding Cathedral of St. Bavo. This large Gothic Cathedral dating from the late 13th Century actually was built on top of the site of a Romanesque church dedicated to St. John built in the 1840's, which in turn was built on top of an earlier religious site. The cathedral is justifiable famous for its great paintings, important works by Reubens and van Eyk are represented. The Cathedral suffered greatly in the wars of religion and a major fire destroyed the interior. The result was one of those happy accidents. Today because of these events the interior of the Cathedral is completely in the Baroque style and contains some of the finest examples of Baroque sculpture in northwest Europe.
We arrived in Brussels the administrative center of the European Union this morning. With twelve countries already members and at least a half dozen more clamoring to join, Brussels is emerging as a world capital. The city is prospering and that is nowhere more evident than in the many new architectural projects dictated by the needs of the European Union. But Brussels has managed to maintain the new and the old and has one of the loveliest of city squares, the Grand Plaza with almost all of the splendid buildings, built as guild halls, dating from the last decade of the 17th Century.
In the afternoon we visited the beautiful medieval city of Ghent and the outstanding Cathedral of St. Bavo. This large Gothic Cathedral dating from the late 13th Century actually was built on top of the site of a Romanesque church dedicated to St. John built in the 1840's, which in turn was built on top of an earlier religious site. The cathedral is justifiable famous for its great paintings, important works by Reubens and van Eyk are represented. The Cathedral suffered greatly in the wars of religion and a major fire destroyed the interior. The result was one of those happy accidents. Today because of these events the interior of the Cathedral is completely in the Baroque style and contains some of the finest examples of Baroque sculpture in northwest Europe.
