In Bruges (Brugge, Belgium)

The historic old city center in Bruges has been a prominent Unesco declared World Heritage site since 2000.  Since seeing the film In Bruges it has been my dream of going to see for myself the wonderful buildings. 

The old city is about 430 hectares in size, oval shaped and reasonably easy to walk around in a day. The cobblestones are wonderful to look at but an absolute agony to walk on all day I have to say.  The city has most of its medieval architecture intact and great efforts have been made to preserve and upkeep the lovely old buildings, allowing the visitor a glimpse of the cultural and commercial significance Bruges had around the 15th century.

The skyline is dominated by two towers.  The brick spire on the left is one of the tallest, that of the Church of Our Lady.  The photo below is taken from the top of the other tower, the 13^th century belfry whose carillion contains 48 bells and concerts are given at 11:00am and 9:00pm each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.  The climb to the top encompassed 366 steps and apart from the wired windows and the rain - the persistent rain in the low countries - allowed a great view across this lovely old city. 

View of the Groote Markt below. 

and also of the old city spread out below.

The Church of Our Lady towers above the other buildings.  Its spire reaches 122m, making it one of the world’s highest brick towers. 

 The belfry from the ground level in the Groote Markt.  It is on three levels, each level having been added in different centuries.  In its present form, the 83 metre high belfry is made up of building layers.  The bottom two square sections in brick were built around the 13th century.  The top octagonal towers in Brabant limestone were built between 1482 and 1486.  Until 1741 it had a graceful 19 metre high wooden spire but it was burnt in a fire, one of many during the centuries.

The Provincial Court building also in the Groote Markt.

The City Hall in Burg Square.

A feeble attempt to capture the towering spire of the Church of Our Lady from street level.  It is just impossible.

The view of the back of the Church of Our Lady.  It is even more beautiful than the spire isn't it?

Inside the Church of Our Lady.  Once again, impossible to capture the sheer size and grandeur of this tall tall church.

Still inside the church.  Looks like a Roman archway doesn't it?  It has always been my view that the best things about religion are the architecture and the music.

The sculpture of the Madonna in the transept of the church.  It is believed to be Michaelangelo's only sculpture to have left Italy in his lifetime.  It was commissioned for a wealthy man and intended to be housed in Venice but he donated it  to the city of Bruges.