Saint Nicholas church is huge and looks more like a cathedral than a church but it is CLOSED Monday Morning and during Sunday services. It is one of the famous three towers of Gent. You will find it in the Ghent town square called the Corn Market or Korenmarkt.

The interior of Saint Nicholas church is impressive and worth a visit. The current Scheldt Gothic style church was finished between 1220 and 1250 replacing an earlier Romanesque church that had burned down, constructed of a blue-grey stone from Tournai. In the 14th and 15th centuries, building work continued and the first alterations took place.

The chancel was lengthened by two bays and expanded with a gallery and radiating chapels. In the 16th century, the church suffered heavily at the hands of the iconoclasts who destroyed images used in religious worship.

St. Nicholas Church was the church of the rich merchants and guilds who carried out their businesses on the Korenmarkt (Corn Market) and the port at Graslei and Korenlei. They had their own chapels within the church and the wealth of their art treasures is still on show.

The church proved to be somewhat unstable. In the 18th century, the cracks and bursts were hidden under plaster, various windows were sealed, and little houses and shops that were built up against the exterior walls. By the end of the 19th century, the building was in a very poor condition and several restorations were carried out.

Most of the houses built up against the church were demolished. It has now been restored. Saint Nicholas church opens Mondays 2.30pm to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm. Admission is free. The church is closed to tourists during Sunday services. The present restoration work began in 1960. In 1992, the chancel with the radiating chapels, the transept, and the service tower were re-opened. Restoration work is continuing in the nave.

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