| Saint Nicholas Church | |
|---|---|
Sint-Niklaaskerk | |
.jpg) St. Nicholas Church | |
 | |
| 51°03′14″N 3°43′22″E / 51.0540°N 3.7229°E | |
| Location | Ghent |
| Country | Belgium |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Scheldt Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 13th century |
| Specifications | |
| Spire height | 76 metres (249 ft) |
| Bells | 3 |
St. Nicholas Church (Dutch: Sint-Niklaaskerk) is a Roman Catholic church, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent landmarks in Ghent, Belgium. Begun in the early 13th century as a replacement for an earlier Romanesque church, construction continued through the rest of the century in the local Scheldt Gothic style (named after the nearby river). Typical of this style is the use of blue-gray stone from the Tournai area, the single large tower above the crossing, and the slender turrets at the building's corners.
Built in the old trade center of Ghent next to the bustling Korenmarkt (Wheat Market[1]), St. Nicholas Church was popular with the guilds whose members carried out their business nearby. The guilds had their own chapels which were added to the sides of the church in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The central tower, which was funded in part by the city, served as an observation post and carried the town bells until the neighboring Belfry of Ghent was built. These two towers, along with St. Bavo's Cathedral, still define the skyline of the city center. One of the treasures of the church is its organ, produced by the famous French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.