Page 103 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Brussels Bruges Ghent & Antwerp

BRUGES  101

phial was brought here from P Concertgebouw
Jerusalem in 1150, and is still ‘t Zand. Map A4. Tel (070) 22 3302.
the object of great veneration. Built as part of the celebrations
The church also has a museum for Bruges’ European City of
of paintings, vestments and Culture, this terracotta concert
other artifacts. hall features a 28-m (92-ft)
tower that offers great views.
P The Markt
Map A3. E Groeningemuseum
A market has been held on See pp104–5.
Bruges’ main square since the
10th century. It is an impressive R Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk
open space lined with 17th- Mariastraat. Map A4. Tel (050) 34
century houses and overlooked 5314. Open 9:30am–5pm Mon–Sat,
by the Belfort on one side. The 1:30–5pm Sun & holy days.
oldest façade on the square Bruges’ Belfort or bell tower overlooking Closed during services; areas
(dating from the 15th century) the Markt including the southern aisle may be
belongs to the Huis Bouchoute, closed for ongoing renovations. &
which was the home of the trade. Inside, a winding staircase The Church of Our Lady took
English king Charles II during leads up, past the chamber over 200 years to build, starting
part of his exile in 1656–7. In where the town’s rights and in 1220. The interior, with its
the middle is a statue of Pieter privileges were stored, to the white walls, stark columns and
de Coninck and Jan Breydel, roof, where the views across black-and-white tiled floor has a
two 14th-century guildsmen Bruges are delightful. medieval simplicity, while the
who led a rebellion against the side chapels and pulpit are
French in 1302. Known as E Gruuthusemuseum lavishly decorated.
the Bruges Matin, they led See pp102–3. One of the church’s artistic
Flemish soldiers to attack highlights is Michelangelo’s
the French at dawn on E Arentshuis Museum sculpture Madonna and Child
18 May 1302, killing Dijver 16. Map B4. Tel (050) 44 8763. (1504–5), at the end of the
almost all of them. Open 9:30am–5pm daily. Closed Mon southern aisle. This marble
This bloody uprising (except Easter and Whit Mon). & statue was imported by a
paved the way for a The Arentshuis Museum is Flemish merchant, and was the
form of independence housed in an 18th-century only one of the artist’s works to
for the Low Countries’ mansion overlooking the leave Italy during his lifetime. In
major towns. Rights Dijver Canal. It is divided the choir there are fine paintings
such as the freedom into two sections, with by Pieter Pourbus including a
to trade were the ground floor given Last Supper (1562), and the
subsequently over to temporary art carved mausoleums of the
enshrined in the exhibitions. These often Burgundian prince Charles the
towns’ charters until focus on a single Bold and his daughter Mary.
the 15th century. Statue of Breydel and Pieter theme or artist
de Coninck and draw on
Historium Brugge the archives of
Markt 1. Map A3. Tel (050) 27 0311. the Groeningemuseum,
Open 10am–6pm daily. & - 7 offering the chance to
This inventive encounter with see some of the
the city’s past uses music, film museum’s more rarely
and a range of special effects to seen works. Upstairs is
give visitors a vivid sense of the the work of Frank
sights, sounds and even smells Brangwyn (1867–1956),
of 15th-century Bruges. a painter and sculptor
born in Bruges to Welsh
P The Belfort parents. Most of his
Markt. Map B3. Open 9:30am–6pm life was spent in Britain,
(last entry 5pm) daily. & but he bequeathed
The Markt is dominated by this collection to
this octagonal belltower, rising Bruges, as well as his
83 m (272 ft) above the square. drawings, furniture and
Built between the 13th and carpets. The dark and
15th centuries, it was used to powerful canvases
store the town’s charter, and is depicting industrial
therefore a constant reminder scenes are perhaps
of the city’s past as a centre of the most diverting. The soaring spire of the Vrouwekerk

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