Brugge

Let go back in time by visiting Brugge, the medieval city of Flanders. Brugge’s intricate network of canals has led many to describe the city as the Venice of the North. A short train ride takes us there.

Arriving at Brugge station.

Brugge station square

Walking to the center

Antique facades while walking to the center

Brugge canals

Brugge canal boat rides, kinda crowded boats

Entrance Church of Our Lady or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk

The Last Supper, painter by Pieter Pourbus in 1562

Church interior

Jas in front of "The Madonna"

Our Lady of seven sorrows Painting by Adriaen Isenbrandt

Michelangelo's Madonna-and-child

Crucifixion by Anthony van Dyck

The altarpiece of the large chapel in the southern aisle

Church of Our Lady construction history

The first church in this place, a Carolingian chapel, dates from circa 875. In the archives of the church, the foundation is dated 741 and attributed to Boniface , but this claim is questionable, since the oldest patronymic dates back to his companion Hilarius. . The chapel depended on the Sint-Maartenskerk in Sijsele , which in turn owned the Dom van Utrecht . In 1116 the chapel separated from Sijsele and became the main church of an independent parish . Presumably, therefore, the building was rebuilt and expanded under Charles the Good .

The construction of the current church started from about 1230. The oldest part, the central aisle , was built in Tournai stone , in the typical Scheldt Gothic . The influence of the Scheldt Gothic, with the two typical stair towers and the use of blue stone, can also be recognized on the front and west facades. The choir section and the apse , built between 1270 and 1280, radiate the classic French Gothic , but completely in brick. The northern beech was built in 1370 and the southern beech in 1450. Around 1465, the Paradise Portal was built in Brabant Gothic .

The tower of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk is the tallest building in the city of Bruges. The first tower collapsed in 1163 and was rebuilt between about 1270 and 1340; the spire was only added in the 15th century and rebuilt in the 19th century . The use of brick is typical of the coastal Gothic. The church has five naves. In the middle of the central aisle, the three-part hall divides the church into two parts: the high choir and the nave. The apostle statues are from the 17th century .

Tombs and choir

The church is known, among other things, because Mary of Burgundy is buried there. Her remains were identified during archaeological research in 1979. Her father, Karel de Stoute , only contains the tomb here. His remains were taken from France to Bruges by Emperor Charles V , a grandson of Mary. He was probably buried in the now-disappeared Saint Donatian Cathedral on the Burg. His body was never recovered. The tombs are located in the high choir of the church.

Above the high altar is a triptych by the court painter of Margaret of Austria , Bernard van Orley . It is a passion story with the crucifixion in the middle. At the foot of the altar, under the tombs, three graves are richly painted.

The lead casket in one of the graves (visibly arranged) contains the bones of Mary, who died in Bruges in 1482. An inscription indicates that the heart of her son Philip the Fair , father of Charles V, was stored in a separate lead box.

The tomb of Mary and also the oldest, was designed by Jan Borman . Both princes are depicted in a lying position and folded hands, according to medieval custom. With opened eyes they are in sight of eternal life. At their feet, the lion and dog act as symbols of masculine strength and feminine fidelity.

Mary of Burgundy's face is gossamer, modeled after the death mask. Her crown decorated with precious stones, her hands and her lavishly wavy cloak are miniature works of art. The funerary monument is still completely Gothic in concept and spirit.

The tomb of Charles the Bold is half a century younger. The effect is partly Gothic, partly Renaissance . The lines are much tighter, but the armor is artfully and detailed. Both black sarcophagi have plaques on the front and on the side walls you see the enamelled family shields of the ancestors. Photos of the tombs can be found in the articles devoted to Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold.

Thirty coats of arms of knights of the Golden Fleece hang above the choir stalls . The first shield on the left is that of Charles the Bold, just opposite that of his brother-in-law Edward IV of England . The coats of arms recall the chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece that was held in this church in 1468.

Michelangelo - Mary with Child

The world-famous work by Michelangelo , Madonna and Child , intended for the Piccolomial altar of the Siena Cathedral , is one of the most important works of art preserved in the Church of Our Lady. It was purchased in Italy by the Bruges merchant Jan van Moeskroen (Giovanni di Moscerone) and donated to the church in 1514. The donor's family tomb is at the foot of the altar, in front of the statue.

The statue was removed by the French occupier in 1794 and by the German occupier in 1944, but could be brought back to Bruges again and again.

Lanchals Chapel

Pieter Lanchals (1440-1488) was the Bruges bailiff who was beheaded by the people of Bruges for his loyalty to Burgundy and to Maximilian of Austria. His head was exhibited at the Gentpoort . His grave monument was partly preserved in the Church of Our Lady.

According to a legend that dates back to the 19th century, Emperor Maximilian I , husband of Mary of Burgundy , set the city to maintain 52 long-necked or swans and swim in the canals on the eternal day .

On the way to the center, The statue of Guido Gezelle catches our attention. A flemish priest and poet who was one of the masters of 19th-century European lyric poetry. Gezelle also worked as a philologist and folklorist, and he greatly influenced 19th-century Flemish intellectual life. His collected poetry (Verzameld dichtwerk), edited by J. Boets, was published in seven volumes (1980–86).

Arriving at the Market place, the first building catching your eye is the Belfry.

The Belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other danger. A narrow, steep staircase of 366 steps leads to the top of the 83 m (272 feet) high building, which leans 87 centimeters to the east.

To the sides and back of the tower stands the former market hall, a rectangular building only 44 m broad but 84 m deep, with an inner courtyard. The belfry, accordingly, is also known as the Halletoren (tower of the halls).

Belfry of Bruges

Front gate of the belfry

Market place, The white building is the Provincial Court

Most other buildings surrounding the Market are commercial

Entrance gate of the Belfry

Walking under the tower to the courtyard

Staircase to the tower

Belfry history

The belfry was added to the market square around 1240, when Bruges was an important centre of the Flemish cloth industry. After a devastating fire in 1280, the tower was largely rebuilt. The city archives, however, were forever lost to the flames.

The octagonal upper stage of the belfry was added between 1483 and 1487, and capped with a wooden spire bearing an image of Saint Michael, banner in hand and dragon underfoot. The spire did not last long: a lightning strike in 1493 reduced it to ashes, and destroyed the bells as well. A wooden spire crowned the summit again for some two-and-a-half centuries, before it, too, fell victim to flames in 1741. The spire was never replaced again, thus making the current height of the building somewhat lower than in the past; but an openwork stone parapet in Gothic Revival style was added to the rooftop in 1822.

A poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, titled "The Belfry of Bruges," refers to the building's checkered history: In the market-place of Bruges stands the belfry old and brown; Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town. Bells The bells in the tower regulated the lives of the city dwellers, announcing the time, fire alarms, work hours, and a variety of social, political, and religious events. Eventually a mechanism ensured the regular sounding of certain bells, for example indicating the hour.

In the 16th century the tower received a carillon, allowing the bells to be played by means of a hand keyboard. Starting from 1604, the annual accounts record the employment of a carilloneur to play songs during Sundays, holidays and market days.

In 1675 the carillon comprised 35 bells, designed by Melchior de Haze of Antwerp. After the fire of 1741 this was replaced by a set of bells cast by Joris Dumery, 26 of which are still in use. There were 48 bells at the end of the 19th century, but today the bells number 47, together weighing about 27.5 tonnes. The bells range in weight from two pounds to 11,000 pounds.

The town hall of Bruges is one of the oldest in the Low Countries and stood example for several town halls that were erected in other towns afterwards. Next stop is Town Hall on the Burg square

The Bruges town hall was built in 1376, which makes it one of the oldest town halls in the Low Countries. The city has been ruled from here for over 600 years. The gothic hall is a work of art in itself, with splendid 19th century murals and a colourful vaulted ceiling. The painted figures depict Bruges’ glorious past. The theme "citizens and government" sheds light on the eternal power struggle between the city government, the sovereigns, and the people of Bruges.

Following the murder of Charles the Good in 1127, Bruges received a city charter, leading to further political autonomy and designating its own council. In 1376, the building of a town hall on Burg Square began. Its construction lasted for centuries, partly due to problems related to a lack of space. At the end of the 19th century, city architect Delacenserie performed a radical 20-year renovation, (the new Gothic Hall). During a restoration of the façade in 1959, the statues were deemed to be of poor quality and were removed. The argument in Bruges over how to fill the empty alcoves lasted until 1989. Eventually the city requested sculptors to reinstate the original statues of rulers and biblical figures.

Bruges Town hall

Facade details

Town hall MuseumLabel on below next painting of Leopold Wilhem {fa-hand-o-right fa-lg }

Equestrian Portrait of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm c. 1650 painted by Jan van den HOECKE

Leopold Wilhem Governor of the Spanish Netherlands

The Spanish Netherlands or "lage landen"

Gotic hall

Gotic hall middle

Tribute to those who revived Bruges, by Charles Rousseau, 1910.

The Battle of the Golden Spurs, the creation of the Order of the Golden Fleece, by Albrecht De Vriendt, late 19 century

Palace of the Liberty of Bruges or "De Brugse Vrije", is next door of Town hall. The alderman’s hall reflects royal power and justice. The Liberty's council chamber, which has been restored to its original 16th-century condition. The hall has a superb black marble fireplace decorated with an alabaster frieze and topped by an oak chimneypiece carved with statues of Emperor Charles V and his grandparents: Emperor Maximilian of Austria, Duchess Mary of Burgundy, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Dating from 1528 and designed by Lanceloot Blondeel, the fireplace of oak, marble, and alabaster is one of the most important works of Renaissance art in Bruges.

Palace of the Liberty Facade

Palace of the Liberty Facade golden details

Fireplace topped by an oak chimneypiece carved with statues of Emperor Charles V and his grandparents

black marble fireplace with an alabaster frieze

Close up of the sculptures on the corner of the mantle

Close up of the sculptures on the corner of the mantle

Bust of Charles V

Meeting of Council of the Brugse Vrije at the Manor of the Brugse Vrije (painter Gilles van Tillborch, early 17th century)

The 16th century rear facade of the manor on the 'Groenerei'.

The 'Burg', painted c. 1691-1700 by Jan Baptist van Meunincxhove

Groeninge Museum The Fine Arts Museum of Bruges, better known as the Groeningemuseum, is internationally renowned for its significant holdings of early Netherlandish painting, which has formed the core of the museum’s most successful exhibitions in recent decades. This part of the collection consists of a number of masterpieces by Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes and Gerard David, as well as works by the minor masters active in Bruges in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, including the Masters of the Lucia- and Ursula Legend, Ambrosius Benson, Lancelot Blondeel and Pieter Pourbus the Elder. The paintings deribed below are described by Web galelery of Arts

The Madonna with Canon van der Paele.
Painted circa 1436 by Jan Van Eyck

The Madonna with Canon van der Paele. The exquisite brocades, furs, and silks are shown in an extraordinarily lifelike and brilliant way, a way that confirms their reality, their tangibility. On the other hand, the reliefs and sculptures on the capitals in the background and on the Virgin's throne all allude to Christ's salvation of humanity. The depictions on the throne of Adam and Eve, Cain killing Abel, and Samson fighting the lion, together with the depiction on the capitals of Abraham sacrificing Isaac, create an Old Testament framework which allows the observer to reflect on the mercy of God, who sent his son, Christ the Redeemer, into the world. Redemption from sin (Cain killing his brother) is possible only through the power of faith (Samson overpowering the lion). The goodness and grace of God "at the moment of truth" (Abraham sacrificing Isaac) serves as proof of the redeeming power and presence of servants of God both celestial (St. George) and mortal (Canon van der Paele).

This is how van der Paele might have expressed the message of the painting-that paradise was at hand-a message confirmed by its being set in a very real but also sacred context. The Virgin is pictures holding a nosegay and her son a parrot - unmistakable echoes of the Garden of Eden - and both figures have turned to face the meditating canon.

The major painting of Van der Goes's third period (between around 1478 and 1482) and very likely one of the last works he painted is the Death of the Virgin. The panel is almost square in shape. The scene is set in a totally enclosed room. The apostles are grouped around Mary's bed. The Virgin's fine blue robe contrast with the purple sheets that cover the bed. Her livid gray face is framed by the immaculate whiteness of her wimple, and of the cushion on which her head rests. Her hands are joined, her fingers look quite bony. Her eyes have lost their lustre. She looks up one last time towards the heavens, where her Son appears to her in His glory with arms outstretched, to display the wounds in his hands. He is dressed in a blue robe and a large red cloak held up by two angels. The picture represents the moment at which life has already gently slipped away, but death has not yet completed its work.

The painter uses the apostles to ring the changes on the different varieties of grief, and their profound sadness contrasts with the detachment of the Virgin herself. Their clothes have been creased into countless shifting folds which cut across one another at right angles. Van der Goes is revealed as a penetrating analyst of religious feeling, of grief and devotion, and of the agitation they can cause. This work, like all those he painted during his last period, represents the eruption of sacred experience into a profane world. The artist achieves this through an abundant use of colours which strike the viewer as unreal, as if they were themselves transfigured. In this way, Van der Goes seeks to identify his painting with the mystery of transcendence itself.

To this end too, the gestures of his figures are emphatic. He uses techniques or the progressive reduction of pictorial space and the transformation of figures, which he paints half-length, not full length.

The Death of the Virgin.
Painted circa 1478 and 1482 by Hugo van der Goes

Retable of Saint Nicholas

The saint sits frontally on a vaulted stone throne which stands in an open gallery. He is blessing the spectator. The handle of his staff is adorned with the images of St Lawrence (with the grid), St Mary Magdalene (vase) and St James the Less (fuller's club). On each side of the throne can be seen a piece of the arcade which opens out onto a landscape with the panorama of Bruges. From left to right we can recognize the towers of Our Lady's, St Saviour's, the Oosterlingenhuis (house of the German hanza), the belfry, the Poorters' Lodge, and to the right of the canopy the Jerusalem Church.

Donated as a Van Eyck, the central panel was very soon ascribed to the Master of the Legend of St Lucy. As with another series of panels by this master, as well as by his contemporary and fellow-citizen the Master of the Legend of St Ursula, a date has been suggested on the basis of the stage of building of the carefully portrayed Bruges belfry. Seeing that the octagonal crown with the wooden steeple was built between 1482 and 1486 and, after the fire of 1493, rebuilt from 1499 to 1502, a painting in which the belfry has this superstructure could have been made between 1486 and 1493 or after 1502. The former dating seems to be more probable.

The second half of the sixteenth century in Bruges was dominated by Pieter Pourbus, a talented master who attained a strictly Italianate classical perfection rare in the Low Countries. In another sense, however, Pourbus was the reincarnation of his famous predecessors, Memling and David. The serenity and innocence of his work could almost persuade the viewer that there had never been a transition to the Renaissance. Karel van Mander tells us (1604) that Pourbus admired these masters very much. Many of his religious works remain in Bruges churches, as a result of which they are less well known. The Last Judgment painted in 1551 for the Council Chamber of the `Liberty of Bruges' (an administrative district consisting of the countryside around Bruges, but not the town itself) is one of his earliest and most monumental pieces. It owes its inspiration to Michelangelo's fresco in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, completed ten years earlier, and is the first attempt in the Low Countries to pay homage to the work of the Italian master on a monumental scale.

Last Judgment. Painted circa 1551 by Pieter Pourbus

After a late lunch, we stroll around the city, until late afternoon. The temperature drops and we start walking in the direction of the train station.

Wollestraat. Here you can take a boat ride on the canals

Walk to the Arendshuis museum

Bonifacius bridge. Back side of church of Our lady

Park bridge part of Minnewaterpark

Park bridge with the Powder Tower in the back