Museum
Church of Our Lady
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
Church of Our Lady is a museum in Bruges, Belgium.
About Church of Our Lady
The Church of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) is a Roman Catholic church in Bruges, Belgium, dating mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Its 115.6-metre-high (379 ft) tower remains the tallest structure in the city and the third tallest brickwork church tower in the world (after St. Mary's Church in Lübeck and St. Martin's Church in Landshut, both in Germany).
The church demonstrates the Gothic style in the prominent Flying buttresses on the exterior which were constructed in the 1270s and 80s. The nave contains cross-vaults and black and white tiled flooring. The interior demonstrates the heavily ornamented Baroque style in the side aisles and chancel.
Church of Our Lady by the numbers
- Founded
- 1210
Plan your visit
Church of Our Lady
- Website
- www.museabrugge.be
- Part of
- Musea Brugge
Overview
The Church of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) is a Roman Catholic church in Bruges, Belgium, whose construction spans principally the 13th through 15th centuries. Its tower, at 115.6 metres, remains the tallest structure in the city and ranks as the second tallest brickwork church tower in the world, after St. Martin's Church in Landshut, Germany. The building serves as both an active parish church and a museum, having been integrated into the Musea Brugge organisation in 2019.
Founding & history
The site's religious history extends to a Carolingian chapel of circa 875, though claims of a 741 foundation by Boniface are considered doubtful. The chapel became an independent parish in 1116. Construction of the present church began around 1230 with the three-aisled nave, built in Tournai stone in the Scheldt Gothic style. A second phase from 1270 to 1335 added the transept, choir, and the massive north tower, constructed in yellow brick. The two western staircase turrets date to about 1280. In 1345 a second northern aisle was added, with its southern counterpart following in 1450-1474, creating a five-aisled basilica. The Paradise Portal, built around 1465 in Brabantine Gothic, and the 54-metre spire added in the mid-15th century, completed the ensemble. The spire was rebuilt in the 19th century. The church was a collegiate church with a provost and chapter of canons until the end of the ancien regime, then became a deanery church. Since the 1980s it has functioned as a tourist reception church, and since the early 21st century it has belonged to the parish federation of Sint-Donatianus.
Collection scope
The church's holdings encompass sculpture, painting, and decorative arts spanning from the 15th to the 18th centuries, with particular strength in Flemish and Netherlandish works. The collection includes significant paintings by Flemish primitives and later masters, marble sculpture, elaborate tombs, Baroque choir stalls, and liturgical furnishings. Since 2019 the paying museum section has formed part of Musea Brugge, while the building remains an active parish church.
