This church, with its massive tower, rises abruptly on the left. The cemetery which formerly surrounded it has been transformed into a public garden surrounded with railings and heavy modern pilasters. The church was built in 1183-1228 in the fine primitive Gothic style of the period, on the site of an ancient sanctuary which was destroyed by fire. Vestiges of its stone foundations are still visible in the tower. The building was frequently modified in the course of time, hence an _ensemble_, in which figure the various periods of the Gothic style: parts of the transept and the choir, 13th century; the naves, 14th century; the chevet and apsidal chapels, 15th and 16th centuries; the vaulting, rebuilt in 1732; the four pinnacled spires of the tower, completed in 1875. The principal measurements are as follows:--length: 330 feet; width: 126 feet; width at the transept: 176 feet; height: 96 feet. [Illustration: +Cathedral of St. Saviour.+] Like Notre-Dame _(see p. 99)_, St. Saviour's is a typical specimen of the Flemish churches, as regards its rich furnishings, decoration and ornaments which form a veritable collection of works of art. Access is gained through two side doorways. Polychrome decoration (1874-1875 by J. Bethune) replaced the previous distemper on the walls, pillars and ribs of the vaulting, itself believed to hide a former decoration of which no traces remain. A marble rood-loft of the 17th century decorated with a statue of the _The Creator_ by Quellin the Younger, and surmounted by an organ-case, separates the nave from the choir. The latter contains curiously carved 15th century choir-stalls, above which are the armorial bearings of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, a famous order founded by Philippe-le-Bon in 1429, and whose 13th chapter was held in the cathedral in 1478. The numerous paintings by local artists include: _The Martyrdom of St. Hippolytus_, a polyptych (veiled), attributed to Dierick Boute, in the third chapel of the ambulatory. On the left of the transept, in the Chapelle des Cordonniers is the _Tombstone of Burgher Wautier Copman_ (1387), with its wonderful, shrouded figure--the finest tombstone that the 14th century has left us. Opposite is _another fine stone_, though inferior in style, i.e. that of Martin de Visch (1453). Various tablets of brass and bronze in relief, carved wood altar-pieces, tombs of bishops, the shrine of Charles-le-Bon, etc ..., besides the art treasures in the _Salle des Marguilliers_ and sacristy, are worthy of note. The St. John Hospital.