Church of Our Lady

Bruges, Belgium

The Church of Our Lady in Bruges dates mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Its tower, at 122.3 metres in height, remains the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world.

In the choir space behind the high altar are the tombs of Charles the Bold, last Valois Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter, the duchess Mary. The gilded bronze effigies of both father and daughter repose at full length on polished slabs of black stone. Both are crowned, and Charles is represented in full armor and wearing the decoration of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

The altarpiece of the large chapel in the southern aisle enshrines the most celebrated art treasure of the church—a white marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child created by Michelangelo around 1504. Probably meant originally for Siena Cathedral, it was purchased in Italy by two Brugean merchants, the brothers Jan and Alexander Mouscron, and in 1514 donated to its present home. The sculpture was twice recovered after being looted by foreign occupiers—French revolutionaries c. 1794 and Nazi Germans in 1944. Close to the Michelangelo statue important Brugeans are buried such as Françoise de Haveskercke, buried next to her husband in the black tomb of the Haveskercke family on the right side of the statue.

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Address

Mariastraat, Bruges, Belgium
See all sites in Bruges

Details

Founded: 1270
Category: Religious sites in Belgium

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Chris Callow (2 months ago)
A beautiful place and fascinating history. Certainly worth the price of a ticket.
Luke Bourne (3 months ago)
Beautiful, gothic church. Part of it is free, but to see the rest of the church which is actually a "museum", you need to pay. Still, it's worth it as it is a very stunning church with a lot of history. Only thing that I was bummed about is that I was unable to climb the tower of the church. It said online that people were able to climb to the top of the church tower (which is taller than the Belfry), but when I went there and asked about it, I found out that that's not the case. So, if you're coming here expecting to climb the tower, sorry but you won't be able to.
Martina Ryan (3 months ago)
It's an amazing church with stunning architecture. Didn't even realise over an hour had gone by while I visited with my 2 teenage sons. They were in awe of the Maddona and child sculpture.
Ann Lynn (4 months ago)
A must visit church in Brugges. It houses a lot of great arts with significant history. The Madonna and the Child sculpted by Michelangelo Buonarroti is so special to see. Since the church is also a museum an entrance fee of 8 Euros per person needs to be paid to see the entirety of the collection which included the Madonna and the Child.
Keaton Adams (7 months ago)
Really cool Catholic church! It’s pretty much simply a museum these days, but is still somewhat preserved in the way that it’s been for centuries. It’s the tallest building in Bruges but the tower is inaccessible to the public. Half of the museum is blocked by a pay wall so that’s a little unfortunate if you’re not willing to pay 12 euros.
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