Bruges, Belgium Photo Gallery
Our first stop in town was Markt (Market Square), one of the best places to see the brightly-colored step-gabled houses.
Belfry of Bruges is an unmistakable symbol of the city. This medieval tower dates from the 13th century and is 272 ft high.
The Provincial Palace, this neo-Gothic building dates from the end of the 19th century.
A statue of the Archangel St Michael slaying a dragon on the roof of the Provincial Court building in the Markt (Market Square).
The Jan Breydel en Pieter de Coninck monument-This is a tribute to the heroic figures, who played important roles in the Flemish resistance to the French in 1302.
The oldest building on Markt Square is Huis Boechoute. Its facade dates from the 15th century. You can recognize it from the golden ball on the roof and a big compass on the facade. It’s also the only building on the market square that has a flat roof.
I can't remember what building this was on, but it is very unique.
The Zara clothing store, but do you see all the bicycles? They are a big part of transportation in this city.
I was fascinated with this kind of bicycle with the big basket on the front. In this basket we see kids, but we saw delivery guys with big boxes, also.
Gruuthuse Museum-The 15th century palace of the Lords of Gruuthuse, a local rich family, is located next to the Cathedral of Our Lady and is transformed into a museum.
Boniface Bridge-A quaint, early-20th-century pedestrian bridge with romantic views of the canal & town.
Interesting old glass window panes and very pretty.
One of the canal boat tours, which I wanted to do, but it was very crowded.
Some old, beautiful buildings near Boniface Bridge.
One of the details on a wall as we walked by.
The Church of Our Lady is a Roman Catholic church in Bruges, Belgium, dating mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Its 379 ft-high tower remains the tallest structure in the city and the third tallest brickwork tower in the world.
See how crowded it is at this scenic bridge, and also Church of Our Lady in the background.
Details on Church of Our Lady.
Church of Our Lady-A chapel is said to have stood on this site before 900AC. Notice the very ornate pulpit on the right side.
De Baenst Chapel.
The very ornate confessionals at this church.
Prayer Chapel of Lodewijk of Gruuthuse, who lived in a city palace adjacent to the church and in the late 15th century had both buildings connected by a 2-story prayer chapel.
One of the beautiful stained glass windows.
I was using google translate to see what this said. One said,"The brotherhood of faithful souls." Another said,"Remember the prisoner or if you were also captured," The last was something about practicing sacrifice.
"The Adoration of the Shepherds," commissioned by Jose de Damhouder, a lawyer. On the left panel he is depicted with his 4 sons and patron saint St Judoc. On the right panel is his wife and 6 daughters and patron saint St Louis.
Blessed Sacrament Chapel designed by Jean-Baptiste de Bethune in a neogothic style.
Details of the altar piece.
More details! Sorry (but not sorry) for all the art photos from this church, but I really loved so many of them from this church.
The Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, the apostles Peter, John and James on the ground and Moses and Elijah in the clouds with God the Father.
Around 1270, AD it became customary in Bruges to paint the inside of brick-lined graves. This is an example.
Here is another example of the painted grave.
The Last Supper by Pieter Pourbush
Tomb of Mary of Burgundy-She fell from a horse and died at the age of 25 years old, but had ruled the Low Countries since her father's death 5 years previous.
Passion triptych-by Bernard of Orley & Marcus Geralds 1534 AD. The center panel depicts the crucifixion, while the side panels feature the flagellation, the Way of the cross, the Harrowing of Hell, and the Lamentation.
Michelangelo's Madonna with Child. During the French Revolution, this was stolen and taken to Paris, but returned in 1816 after Napoleon's defeat. During WWII it was looted for a 2nd time for Hitler. The Allies, known as the Monument Men, rescue the statue from the salt mines of Altaussee in Austria.
The Calling of Matthew-I found this painting interesting in that Jesus is clothed in His time period, but Matthew and the rest are in the current time period. Matthew must have looked like the tax collectors of the current time when this was painted.
The Adoration of the Magi-by Gerald Seghers 1630 AD.
Saint John’s Hospital-One of the oldest preserved hospital buildings in Europe. In the museum, you can learn more about hospital life in the past and how the wards would have looked then. (We didn't have time to go inside here.)
Walplein-This charming cobblestone square probably owes its name to the first city walls and dates back to the early 12th century. We had a delicious lunch here.
Brian's ribs were finger lickin' good. He said that he made a good choice for lunch.
Bruges is known for its lace, which is a fine white part lace made of cotton. It is made in pieces, with the designs later joined to make the final lace. These pieces of lace caught my eye.
The window displays were amazing and in this case, who doesn't love macarons?
Rozenhoedkaai (Rosary Quay)-A centuries-old Instagrammable hotspot. Once upon a time, rosaries were sold here; today it provides one of the city’s loveliest views.
This is the chocolate shop of Ian De Clerck, a 3rd generation chocolatier.
His shop was full of all kinds of chocolate and candy.
We bought an assortment of chocolates seen in this photo. There were so many to choose from!
I can tell you that they were the most delicious chocolates that I have ever eaten!
Here is Ian De Clerck, himself selling chocolates to Doug and one of our ship neighbors, Beverly.
You can't go to Bruges, Belgium without having a waffle. Doesn't this look amazing?
She's making merveilleux, two rounds of meringue with some well-whipped cream in between and on the outside, then rolled and tossed and sprinkled with all sorts of toppings. Of course I had to try one. It was a last second purchase before leaving town. I liked the flavor that I got, but I wish I had bought an assortment to try.