- This Flemish city was once one of the most powerful cities in all of northern Europe.

It is known for its soaring spires and its inspiring art and architecture.

(speaking foreign language) in Ghent.

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(uplifting piano music) - There is a spot in the Flemish region of Belgium where you can walk back in time, wander the cobblestone streets, and be surrounded by Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture, and experience the historic flower market.

It is time to get (speaking foreign language) about Ghent.

Lovely, lovely Ghent looks almost just as it did in the Middle Ages when it was the capital of Flanders, which makes up the northern half of Belgium today.

And an important capital it was, Ghent was once one of the most prosperous cities in all of northern Europe, back when wool and cloth production gave the city its great wealth.

That wealth gave the counts of Flanders this castle, and the merchants of Ghent, these guild halls, and the citizens of Ghent, all this beauty.

It also gave the church leaders some pretty impressive abbeys, and some of the most beautiful works of art the world has ever known.

Along with all that history, Ghent's beauty abounds, from those winding rivers, to its guild halls, to its famous Friday markets.

Different squares host different markets, like the animal market, the books and antiques market, and, most popular, the flower markets.

And of course, wouldn't you know it, Ghent's curiosities abound here, too.

So here's what I'm curious about in Ghent, Belgium.

Who lived in this castle?

Then, who thought that castle wasn't quite good enough and moved here?

What does wool have to do with these fancy buildings?

And what do spiders have to do with Belgian lace?

Where did this dragon fly in from, and who allegedly stole it?

(growling) Why are there so many carvings on these buildings, and what do they mean?

When did this little mustard pot, and these purple noses, become Ghent traditions?

And, the biggest question of all, how did the oh-so-curious history of one of the greatest Flemish masterpieces unfold?

We delicately chip away at this art history mystery.

Who, what, where, why, when, and how.

So much to be curious about in Ghent.

(lively classical music) So, let's begin our curious exploration into Ghent with a closer look at those buildings and their unique house addresses.

Ghent is overflowing with gorgeous Dutch and Flemish architecture, with those little storybook townhouses often lining the rivers, and those step-gabled rooftops.

So, we go looking for some artsy house markers here in the Patershol neighborhood, named for the potters, or fathers, of the local monastery and church here.

And it is here that we find some truly curious architectural carvings way up high, which is why it's always important to look up.

What I find really fascinating, all the architecture is beautiful in Ghent, of course, but I'm starting to notice these really lovely panels of these reliefs.

What was the idea behind these really elaborate reliefs on the facades of the building?

- Well, we may not forget, of course, that there were no house numbers, so how did you know where to go to?

So when you knew the area where you had to go to, people very often described their house, and said, well I'm in the house with that particular name.

We have, at our right hand side, the house which with call the Flying Deer, or the Flute Player, because you will see a flute player in the top of the house.

- So, for centuries, these beautiful little works of art identified who lived or worked here.

It wasn't until much later that house numbers or addresses came to be.

There's a great story about how that evolved into numbered house addresses that we're used to today, at least in the Western world.

How did that evolve?

- Well, they say that Poland is responsible for house numbers.

In fact, not for house numbers, for numbers for brothels.

Napoleon-- - The brothels?

- Yeah, brothels.

And that is something that inspired people later on to say well, if it works for brothels, it must also work for house numbers.

- So that's how we got house numbers, was from brothels?

- That's what they say, yes.

- [Christine Voiceover] And this wonderful legend is also the reason why one should be wary if someone suggests you visit a Cabaret Douze.

- We still have a remnant of that story of Napoleon in our own language, because when a man is going here to a place which is not very decent, we say here in Flanders he is going to a (speaking foreign language).

And (speaking foreign language) is nothing more than our Flemish way to speak of Cabaret Douze, cabaret number 12.

- Number 12.

- Yeah.

- That's because the brothels were numbered according to their, let's just say, indecency.

Number one was almost classy, but number 12, or douze, was the most scandalous.

(uplifting classical music) From brothels and Napoleon to a cute little dragon way up high we now visit the Belfry of Ghent, which stands proudly at the heart of Ghent's historic center.

The Ghent Belfry dates back to 1313, and is part of a UNESCO world heritage site.

And it's also the symbol of Ghent's wealth and independence.

Why?

Well, because it was once the cloth hall, or guild hall, and later, the city's watchtower.

And then, once upon a time, the city's treasures were kept here too.

And its true treasure is still inside.

Many, many steps up is the beloved, although strong-breathed, city mascot.

(growling) Can someone give this guy a mint?

This cute little fire-breathing guy behind me is the symbol of Ghent.

Of course, it is the dragon of Ghent, and ever since 1377, the dragon has been sitting high atop the belfry overlooking the city.

He has also been the protector of the belfry, because once upon a time, inside the bell tower, there was a treasure chest of sorts, with all of the city's important laws and other documents.

But the most curious part about the dragon of Ghent is that he's not from Ghent at all.

That's right, this wonderful copper-clad symbol of Ghent is not a native of Ghent.

Legend says this little guy began his journey as a figurehead on the prowl of a Norwegian ship back in the 12th century.

Then he was gifted to Constantinople, and lived for a little while inside the Hagia Sophia.

Then a Flemish count took it and brought it back to Belgium, but not to Ghent, but Bruges.

Then the legend continues when citizens of Ghent allegedly stole the dragon from Bruges through this alley.

Then he was brought to Ghent, prominently placed atop the belfry, and has been Ghent's guardian angel ever since.

When the original dragon was high atop his post on the belfry, he could see all across his city, all the way to our next curious stop, the castle of the counts of Flanders, the Gravensteen.

(exciting music) Gravensteen castle dates back to 1180 and looks straight out of Game of Thrones, doesn't it?

In true Ghent style, this waterway-loving city still has the castle's moat surrounding it.

It was, and remains, a symbol of Ghent's power and prosperity.

- Why was this location chosen here along the river?

- If you go abroad and you see a castle, most of the time it's on top of the hill.

- Right.

- Or it's a bit further away of the city.

So here it's right in the middle of the city in Ghent.

And it had a reason, because you had rich merchants here, because we had this famous wool industry.

It was a rich city, and rich merchants who wanted also to have a say in politics.

So this count, there was always a bit of a competition between the citizens who lived here, who were rich and powerful, and the count.

So that's why he said hmm, I'm going to move a bit closer here.

- Oh, that's why.

- In the city of Ghent, because I want to have a close eye on them.

- Oh, interesting.

- That's why.

- Gravensteen became known as the castle of the counts, but this wasn't the only place the counts of Flanders lived.

(gentle piano music) In the 14th century, Count van Male decided that the castle of the counts just wasn't to his liking anymore, so he needed to build a new place to live.

But it couldn't just be one single castle.

Oh no.

He decided to build an entire complex of buildings, with more than 300 rooms, gorgeous gardens, and even a zoo.

Then, of course, he had to build a beautiful medieval wall to encircle it all.

Sadly, nothing remains of those buildings, or the wall, except for this gate.

Now, the gate is actually called the dark gate, but don't let that worry you.

Inside is a beautiful little peaceful oasis within the heart of the city.

Next, it is time to explore Ghent by water, along those winding rivers that once transported goods in and out of the city, creating all that wealth you see in those former guild houses today.

And as we continue our boat tour through Ghent, we actually go just outside the main historic center to see where Ghent began, at St. Peter's Abby.

St. Peter's Abby was founded in the seventh century and actually helped to develop the entire city of Ghent.

Now, St. Peter's Church was built in the 17th century, in all this baroque splendor.

Now the church is actually at the center of a larger complex of gardens and courtyards and buildings that can still be enjoyed today.

It was this Benedictine abbey that blossomed into an entire village, complete with farms, gardens, a church complex, and other homes and buildings.

The church owned all the land from today's city center out to this point.

Those farms and estates became this busy modern St. Peter's Square.

But part of those farms, mostly the vineyard, have been preserved.

Just behind the church along the river, same place its been for centuries.

The abbey and church complex is still here as well, including the original courtyard, although part of the building is used as a museum now.

But the church is still a church.

Our Lady of St. Peter's Church.

It is practically overflowing with art, treasures, and a serene beauty.

Next, as beautiful as St. Peter's abbey is, there is another church in Ghent that possibly rivals it, and this one houses one of the most important Flemish masterpieces in history, and no, I'm not exaggerating.

So, we go from St. Peter's to St. Bavo's to explore a centuries-old art history mystery.

(heavenly choral music) St. Bavo was a monk who lived in Ghent in the seventh century.

St. Bavo's cathedral dates back to the 10th century.

Today, it is a Gothic masterpiece, but traces of its Romanesque design can be seen in its crypt below.

Back upstairs, the architecture is its own work of art, but it houses many other works of art, including this painting by Flemish master, Peter Paul Rubens.

But it is another Flemish masterpiece that is even more historic, and it is a supersized one, the legendary Ghent Altarpiece.

The Ghent Altarpiece was created by Jan van Eyck and Hubert van Eyck, specifically for St. Bavo's cathedral in 1432, in fact, specifically for this side chapel.

How do we know?

Well, because the light source you see on the figures in the painting seems to be coming from this real life window up to the right.

The Ghent Altarpiece's correct name is actually the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, as the lamb in the center represents Jesus, and is considered one of the finest works of northern Renaissance art in history.

But here's the problem, this isn't the Ghent Altarpiece.

This is.

The original was moved to this area of St. Bavo's cathedral behind glass in the 1980s, and it has been here ever since.

And standing in front of the real painting is nothing short of spectacular.

The story of Revelation come to life, the characters of the Bible, and world history, flocking to adore the mystic lamb.

Now we get to talk about the journey, that this hasn't always stayed here?

(chuckles) It was very coveted by a lot of not-so-nice people.

- There's a whole history during the 16th century, period of the religion wars in Ghent, it was hidden in the tower of the cathedral.

And then afterwards it came back, and during the French occupation at the end of the 18th century, the four center panels were brought to Paris to the Louvre, after the battle of Waterloo.

The center panels came back.

But the dioceses of the church sold the doors to an antiquer, and so they came in Berlin.

- Really?

Just sold as if it were just-- - Yeah.

- A regular work of art?

- Sold, sold.

- [Christine Voiceover] Then after World War One, the Ghent Altarpiece's pieces were all recovered.

But of course this reunion didn't last long.

- During the second war, the whole Mystic Lamb was hidden in Pau in France, and there Hitler found it, and he brought it to Neuschwanstein.

- Castle?

- In Byron.

- Yeah.

- And when the Americans came in Normandy, everything was brought to Altaussee in a salt mine, and hidden in the salt mine, and there, the American troops found it back in 1945, and so it came back to Ghent.

- Came back, a long journey.

- So we are very grateful to the Monuments Men.

- Yes, yes.

- Who found it.

- This is the heroic story of the Monuments Men, a group of mostly American art experts who, at the end of World War Two, preserved and recovered artwork stolen by the Germans.

The Ghent Altarpiece was one of the most important pieces to be recovered.

But there's one more curious problem here.

This center panel, the most famous panel, isn't here.

Yup, this isn't the real one again.

So, where is it?

Did someone steal it again?

Nope.

We know where to find it.

For that, we travel just outside the historic center of Ghent to the MSK Museum.

(uplifting piano music) For many years, the Ghent Altarpiece underwent restorations here at the MSK Museum.

We were lucky enough to witness it in person in 2019.

To get to see it happening here now, it's so tiny, so meticulous.

- The conservation project is absolutely amazing.

It's a real revelation, and slow process, and the results are absolutely stunning.

- But the reason why the panels needed to be restored, surprisingly, has nothing to do with it being stolen over and over.

Why was it painted over, and again, which time period was it painted over?

- Well, we think that such wonderful old masses is eternal, but actually it was an altarpiece used in the mass.

There was a daily mass provided in 15th century, so it was opened and closed regularly, and candles were used, and that's one of the reasons, we assume, that there was some paint loss occurred in the lower part of the paintings.

But then in the 16th century, around 1550, some very, very skilled painters were asked to basically over-paint the surface, just to hide local repairs, older restorations, and also to refresh the colors with a little bit of varnish underneath, just older varnish layers.

- Finally it was decided that it was time to chip away at all those restorations to reveal the beauty of van Eyck's original work.

What, are you using solvents, or just chipping away with the tiny scalpel?

What techniques are you using to make sure you're not damaging the original?

- We're using very fine surgical scalpels.

Some of them are even eye surgery scalpels, they're very fine, and extremely sharp.

- So, by scanning through all those layers, the original images have been revealed, including shadows that are more crisp, colors that are more vivid, and even an eye transplant.

Have there been any surprises once you've chipped away at something, have you found something underneath you weren't expecting?

- One really surprising result was the head of the lamb in the Adoration of the Lamb had been completely over-painted, and its expression had been transformed.

So van Eyck's lamb, the one we see now, has a human face.

So the eyes are put forward, like in a human face, and the little ears are lower than the eyes, which lack on the human morphology.

When it was over-painted, they changed the position, the eyes, put them on the sides, and add larger ears at the same level.

And so the lamb, after the over-painting it looked more like an animal.

A very unusual animal.

And now it has a very confronting gaze, and that's really fascinating.

- And that's the center of the whole piece, so people were seeing the wrong version of the lamb that van Eyck had painted?

How incredible, to get to witness this important moment of art history.

But, there is one last piece to this artsy puzzle.

Even when the center panel is nestled back into its spot inside St. Bavo's cathedral, there is still one panel that won't be replaced anytime soon.

Remember that mirror in the bottom left corner?

That is the missing Just Judge's panel that was stolen in 1934.

To this day, no one knows where it could be, or if it even exists.

But why the mirror?

Well that is the work of a more modern Flemish artist.

It was added as a quirky statement so that you, the viewer, become one of the judges inside the painting.

Now that we have enjoyed a feast for the eyes, we continue our sensory overload that is Ghent back in the center of Old Town.

Here, we taste and feel some more Ghent history, and rejoin our friend and guide inside this darling Flemish lace shop.

The origins of fine lace making in Flanders go back to the 15th century when artists, mostly women, made intricate lace patterns like these, all by hand, of course, and wouldn't you know it, this pattern has a curious inspiration.

- People say that the whole craft was in fact inspired by the intricacy of a spider's web.

- A spider web.

- And on the basis of that, people started making patterns.

- [Christine Voiceover] And these tiny little bobbins skillfully passed over each other like a dance, were, and still are, used to make these oh-so-delicate pieces.

- It is handmade, as you can see here, because you have to see knots.

- [Christine] Oh!

- If you see the knots at the back, this means that it is handmade, because you start here with your threads, and of course in the end, there you are with your threads again.

If you don't see that, that means that it is machine work.

So that's the reason why when I advise people to come to the shop-- - To look on the back.

- Just turn, yeah.

- That's funny.

So maybe that's why the tape has come loose on some of these.

People are checking.

Hope those spiders are getting their commission off of this.

(laughing) - They don't, unfortunately.

- Next, we know that Belgium is known for its chocolate, its frites, its beer, and its waffles.

And Ghent is no exception.

But there's a special treat that only Ghent is known for, and you can find them on these darling little candy carts, like these.

These little cone-shaped jelly candy treats are called cuberdons, or road neuzens, or Ghent noses, because they sort of look like little noses, right?

And just behind the Ghent nose cart is another Ghent culinary delight, but this one's a bit spicier.

The Tirenteyn Verlent mustard shop.

Here at the shop, if you look up, you will see the crescent moon, which is the store symbol.

And it goes back to the time when the average townsfolk couldn't read or write.

So all they had to do was look for a symbol to know which shop to go to.

Then, when you step inside the shop, you really step back in time.

This darling family business dates back to 1790.

French Dijon mustard was already being made, and it is believed that a member of the Tirenteyn Verlent family was stationed in Dijon, so learned the stone-grinding mustard making process there, then brought it back to Belgium.

So how long does it take to make this, and are there secret ingredients and things we're not allowed to know about?

- Actually the ingredients are very simple.

It's just mustard seeds, vinegar, and salt.

- Okay.

- I don't add anything else.

There's no preservatives, or anything.

But the way in which we make the mustard is quite unique, and it gives our mustard a very runny and smooth texture, and it also helps to make it very spicy.

- Oh, good.

- But we keep the method a secret so no one's allowed in the basement.

- That's what I thought.

And finally you cork it up and take it home, your tiny little taste of spicy Ghent history.

So, from a winding river village that thrived thanks to wool, cloth, and some pretty little lace, that created town squares overflowing with flowers and books, and all manner of Ghent goodies, sometimes in the shape of purple noses and spicy little concoctions decorated with a crescent moon, that are found inside darling little shops surrounded by those mighty guild houses and dotted with magnificent Middle Age landmarks, testaments to its medieval prowess as a world center of trade.

Some fit for a count, others fit for a prince, and one so glorious, a giddy little dragon races it with its fiery presence, and those buildings are home to intricate details of artsy descriptions of who lived or worked inside, and the best way to explore it is by boat, which leads you to a curious monks' garden and oh-so-grand abbey.

And then there is the true treasure of Ghent, and an important little lamb.

An Altarpiece so important, its realism, its precision, its scale, is so grand, that it was stolen, then hidden, then stolen, and recovered, and now, at last, it's being oh-so-carefully repaired.

Ghent has so much to be curious about.

Thank you for joining us on our educational journey, and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and how's of gorgeous Ghent.

As the Flemish say, (speaking foreign language).

(classical piano music) Curious Traveler is made possible by the following.

- [Narrator] For more than 45 years, Vacations By Rail has been helping travelers explore the world with a collection of rail journeys and luxury river cruises, through awe-inspiring nature and cosmopolitan cities, from America's national parks, to Europe and beyond, vacationsbyrail.com.

- [Narrator] At GET, we believe travel is more than just getting away, it's about experiencing a destination at iconic sites, and delving deep into local culture.

Learn more at GETours.com.

- [Narrator] SmarTours offers group tours to over 50 must-see destinations around the world.

With SmarTours, we want you to enjoy the fun of travel while we do the planning for you.

The journey begins at smartours.com.

- [Christine] Still curious?

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