Saint Michael's Church, Ghent, Gothic parish church in Ghent, Belgium

Saint Michael's Church is a parish church in central Ghent that combines Gothic and Baroque building elements under a flat roof, which replaced the tower that was originally planned. The interior is divided into several aisles with vaulted ceilings and side chapels that hold paintings and sculptures from different centuries.

Construction began in 1440 but was repeatedly interrupted by religious conflict and a lack of money through the 1500s and into the early 1600s. The building grew in stages whenever funding allowed, which is why it reflects several different building phases today.

The church keeps a relic of the Holy Thorn, brought here by Mary, Queen of Scots, and a relic of the True Cross given by Archduke Albert and Isabella in 1619. A Confraternity of Saint Dorothea was founded here in 1648, and its silver reliquary of the saint is among the treasures. The organ front is neo-Gothic, from an instrument built by De Volder in 1817 and enlarged by Anneessens in 1951, with 47 stops on three manuals and a pedal.

The church sits in central Ghent and is easy to reach on foot from most of the city's other sights. Plan enough time to walk through the side chapels and look at the artworks without rushing.

The tower was meant to reach 134 metres, taller than Antwerp Cathedral's 123-metre spire, following a 1662 design by Lieven Cruyl. Money ran out and the plan was abandoned; a flat roof was only placed over the unfinished tower in 1828. The two completed lower levels still stand above the facade.