Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
quarter hour, when things ring. It's
bellissimo
at the top of the hour.
Atop the tower, survey Bruges. On the horizon, you can see
the towns along the North Sea coast.
• Leaving the bell tower, turn right (east) onto Breidelstraat, and thread
yourself through the lace and waffles to Burg Square.
burg square
This opulent square is Bruges' historical birthplace, political cen-
ter, and religious heart. Today it's the scene of outdoor concerts
and local festivals.
Pan the square to see six centuries of architecture. Starting
with the view of the bell tower above the gables, sweep counter-
clockwise 360 degrees. You'll go
from Romanesque (the interior
of the fancy, gray-brick
Basilica
of the Holy Blood
in the corner),
to the pointed Gothic a rches
and prickly steeples of the white
sandstone
City Hall,
to the
well-proportioned Renaissance
windows of the
Old Recorder 's
House
(next door, under the gilded statues), to the elaborate 17th-
century Baroque of the
Provost's House
(past the park behind
you). he
park
at the back of the square is the site of a cathedral
that was demolished during the French Revolutionary period.
Today, the foundation is open to the public in the
Crowne Plaza
Hotel
basement (described on page 338). The modern, Japanese-
designed
fountain
plays with motifs of lace and water, but locals
simply call it “the car wash.”
• Complete your spin and walk to the small, fancy, gray-and-gold build-
ing in the corner of Burg Square.
basilica of the Holy blood
The gleaming gold knights and ladies on the church's gray facade
remind us that this double-decker church was built (c. 1150) by a
brave Crusader to house the drops of Christ's blood he'd brought
back from Jerusalem.
Lower Chapel:
Enter the
lower chapel through the door
labeled
Basiliek.
Inside, the stark
and dim decor reeks of the medi-
eval piety that drove crusading
Christian Europeans to persecute
Muslims. With heavy columns
and round arches, the style is pure
Romanesque. The annex along
