01 January - 31 December
Mon 10.00 - 13.00 • 14.00 - 17.30
Tue 10.00 - 13.00 • 14.00 - 17.30
Wed 10.00 - 13.00 • 14.00 - 17.30
Thu 10.00 - 13.00 • 14.00 - 17.30
Fri 10.00 - 13.00 • 14.00 - 17.30
Sat 10.00 - 13.00 • 14.00 - 15.30
Sun 14.00 - 17.00
Treasury
weektime : 10.00-12.30 & 14.00-17.00
Saturday : 10.00-12.30
Sunday : 14.00-17.00
The cathedral is the oldest church of this monumental city. The oldest part, which would be the lowest part of the tower, dates from the twelfth century. It is also around that time that a romanesque church (1116-17) was built. Around 1250, the church was rebuilt in red brick and in gothic style.
Another century later, the other parts were added. The Neo-Romanesque tower was completed in several phases around the years 1844 and 1871. All of this presents us with a church which is one hundred metres long and is blessed with a rich interior.
The choir stalls carry the coats of arms of all the knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1478). The church consists of several mausoleums, a phenomenal rood screen, a choir with five apse chapels, and a series of side chapels - each with their own saint.
In the Charles the Good chapel, stands the neo-Gothic reliquary (1883-85) of the Blessed Charles the Good, count of Flanders, murdered on March 2 due to his care for the poor and his efforts for peace. In the same chapel, stands an old wooden portrait of Charles the Good. The central Blessed Sacrament Chapel was reshaped into a prayer chapel and a weekly chapel, and invites a moment of prayer or reflection.
KIKIRPA : Photo-library online
Together with the deanery of Bruges, Open Churches released a brochure describing a walk through Bruges, guiding you along the 11 principal churches in the town centre. The 9 km route invites you to walk in the footsteps of the pastors of our faith. You can explore the splendour and grandeur of our religious heritage and discover the legends and tales which surround the life of our saints and patron saints.