St Nicholas' Church | Gent

St Nicholas' Church wears a distinct skin of blue-gray Tournai stone, topped by a slender, soaring tower that punctures the Ghent skyline. Merchants from the local weavers' guild funded this construction in the thirteenth century, replacing an earlier wooden structure to showcase their newfound wealth. During the French Revolution, the building served as a stable for horses and a depot for soldiers. Its blackened facade and towering silhouette mark the spot where the city’s cloth trade once held total economic sway.