Church of Our Lady Bruges

The 115.6 meter high tower of the Church of Our Lady, built entirely in brick, dominates the cityscape of Bruges.

The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, one of the tallest buildings in Belgium , is the second-tallest brick building in the world (after the 130.6-meter-high Saint Martin's Church in Landshut, Germany).

The church is known, among other things, because Mary of Burgundy is buried there . The lead coffin in one of the graves (displayed) contains the bones of Mary who died in Bruges in 1482. An inscription indicates that the heart of her son Philip the Fair, father of Charles V, is stored in a separate lead box.

Thirty coats of arms of knights of the Golden Fleece hang above the choir stalls.

The church also houses Michelangelo's world-famous work, Madonna and Child . It was bought in Italy by the Bruges merchant Jan van Mouscron (Giovanni di Moscerone) and donated to the church in 1514. The donor's family tomb is at the foot of the altar, in front of the statue. The statue was removed in 1794 by the French occupier and in 1944 by the German occupier, but could always be returned to Bruges.

In the church there is also a Lanchal chapel, in honor of the scout who was beheaded by the bridgemen, whereupon Maximilian of Austria, according to legend, ordered the bridgemen to keep 52 long-necked or swans alive for eternity and to let them swim around in the canals.

Willem Vandenameele