Church of Our Lady, Bruges

Church of Our Lady
Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk
Church of Our Lady
51°12′17″N 3°13′28″E
Location	Bruges
Country	Belgium
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.onthaalkerk-brugge.be
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Mary
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic
Years built	1270-1280 (choir) 14th/15th century (various additions)
Groundbreaking	13th century
Specifications
Height	115.6 m (379 ft 3 in)
Materials	Brick
Administration
Diocese	Bruges

The Church of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) in Bruges, Belgium, dates mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.

Its tower, at 115.6 metres (379 ft) in height, remains the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world (the tallest being the St. Martin's Church in Landshut, Germany).

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.

Gallery

Exterior

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Interior

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  Nave

Works of art

• 
  Madonna by Michelangelo
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  Madonna by Michelangelo
• 
  Crucifixion by Anthony van Dyck (?)
• 
  Supper at Emmaüs, formerly ascribed to Caravaggio
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  Deposition of the Cross; anonymous

References

• Bumpus, T. Francis (1909), The Cathedrals and Churches of Belgium [The Cathedral Series; 16], London: T[homas] W[erner] Laurie, pp. 138–144, OCLC 221948162.
• Hobbs, Jerry R. (9 January 2004), A Michelangelo in Belgium? The Bruges Madonna, Information Sciences Institute, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, archived from the original on 8 June 2014.
• [Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk] (in Dutch), Kerknet Vlaanderen, archived from the original on 14 April 2012, retrieved 14 April 2012.

External links

• Official website of the Church of Our Lady, Bruges