The Grand'Place.
The Grand'Place or Grand Marché is in the centre of the city. The
"Halles" occupy the south side, and the Hôtel du Gouvernement
Provincial and General Post Office the western side. On the northern
side is a row of remarkable gabled houses _(photo below)_, while
to the east, at the corner of the Rue St. Amand, stands the Hôtel
Bouchoute which, in 1839, was surmounted with a metal ball indicating
the meridian line. In the centre is a monument by the sculptor Paul de
Vigne, erected in 1887 to the memory of the famous communists Breydel
and de Coninck.
[Illustration: +Bruges. Ancient houses in the Grand'Place.+]
[Illustration: +General View of Bruges, seen from the top of the
Belfry.+
_A. Ostend; B. Church of St. Jacques; C. Blankenberghe; D. The Theatre;
E. Water-Works of Zeebrugge; F. Zeebrugge Canal; G. Port of Bruges;_
_H. Heyst; I. Duinbergen; J. Church of St. Gilles; K. Knocke._]
The Halles and Belfry.
It is this edifice--an eloquent witness of the city's past grandeur
and symbol of the ancient prosperity of the "Queen of the West"--which
characterises Bruges. The building measures 270 feet in length by
110 feet in width. The low galleries with groined vaulting on the
ground-floor, contain an archæological museum, whilst those on the
first floor are used for exhibition purposes.
[Illustration: +The Belfry.+ _In front:_ +The Statue to Breydel and
Coninck.+]
The Belfry, in the centre of the façade, is 264 feet high, and
comprises two massive, square, superimposed towers, decorated with
pinnacles connected by a balustrade. Above rises a third octagonal
tower supported by flying buttresses. This last story, which contains
the famous peal of bells, was added towards the end of the 15th
century. It was surmounted, first with a spire, and later, after the
spire was burnt, with a triple campanile, destroyed by lightning in
1741. A balustrade now crowns the tower.
The Renaissance statue of the Virgin, on a stem-like ornament over
the main doorway (1819), replaced the original one which was broken
during the Revolution (1793). Above is a _bretèche_, from which public
announcements were made.
[Illustration: +The Cathedral of St. Saviour+
_Rue du Beffroi._]
The "Halles" date from the 12th century, but were enlarged in the
14th, 15th and 16th centuries. _Pass under the vaulted entrance, to
the staircase which leads to the upper stories and tower._ A spiral
stair of 403 steps leads to the upper platform, which commands a very
extensive and impressive view; on the one side, the littoral, with
its watering-places and ports, stretching as far as Flushing; on the
other side, the Flemish plain, with its towns, burghs, and villages.
To the chequered history of this region, a new and far more tragical
page has just been added. The visit to the tower comprises: the first
story, in which is the "Big Ben" dating from 1680, and weighing nearly
six tons; it was taken from Notre-Dame Church and placed there in 1800;
the watchmen's room, and lastly the belfry proper, containing a peal
of forty-six bells, cast in 1743, and rung either by a cylinder or a
key-board. During the German occupation the bells remained dumb.
[Illustration: +The Hôtel du Gouvernement provincial.+]
The Hôtel du Gouvernement Provincial.
This edifice was rebuilt in rich 16th century style (Gothic and
Renaissance combined) after the fire which destroyed the original
building in 1878. It stands on the site of the old "Water Halle" which
was skirted by a canal, now covered in. The German invasion interrupted
the completion of the right wing, at the corner of the Rue Philipstock.
Excavations carried out on this site laid bare the old pillars of the
"Water Halle".
[Illustration]
_Leave the Grand'Place by Rue de la Bride, at the corner of which
is the =Hôtel des Postes= (Post Office). The tourist next reaches
the Place du Bourg, in which are: on the left, the =Prévôté=; on the
right, the =Hôtel-de-Ville=_, between the =Chapel of St. Sang= and the
=Greffe=.
The Prévôté.
The Prévôté, formerly the residence of the Provosts of the Chapter
of St. Donatian, was built in 1664. Its Renaissance façade has been
partially restored. On the _terre-plein_ planted with fine trees, which
adjoins it, stood the ancient Cathedral of St. Donatian, pulled down in
1790. Charles-le-Bon, Count of Flanders, was assassinated there in 1127.
The Hôtel-de-Ville.
This beautiful Gothic structure is ornamented with six storied
corbel-turrets, covered with niches and small statues of the Counts of
Flanders (1376-1389).
[Illustration: +The Hôtel-de-Ville, separated from the "Greffe"+ _(on
the left)_ +by the entrance to the narrow street of the "Ane aveugle"+.]
Badly disfigured during the Revolution, the building was inartistically
restored in 1854, as witness the small replace statues. The
dependencies facing the narrow street "Ane Aveugle", the canal, and
the rear of the Chapel of St. Sang, were either rebuilt or restored in
modern times.
On the ground-floor are a large hall, the Council Chamber, and the
Burgomaster's office. The staircase leads to the _Salle des Echevins_,
which occupies practically the whole length of the story. It was
decorated quite recently by A. de Vriendt with frescoes illustrating
episodes from the history of Bruges. Its magnificent Gothic vaulting is
ornamented with pendent wood-work.
The Chapel of Saint-Sang.
[Illustration: +The Chapel of Saint-Sang.+]
Adjoining the Hôtel-de-Ville, on the right, is the Chapel of Saint-Sang
(Holy-Blood), _(photos opposite and on p. 9)_. This famous name was
given to two superimposed sanctuaries. The lower one (12th century)
with short massive pillars, was dedicated to St. Basil. In the upper
one (15th century), is kept the shrine of the Holy Blood, brought from
Palestine, according to tradition, by Count Thierry d'Alsace, in 1148.
This was the starting-point of the famous procession which, before the
German invasion, used to attract large numbers of people to Bruges each
year, and was in fact a public festival. Inaugurated in 1303, it takes
place on the first Monday following May 3.
[Illustration: +The Chapel of St. Sang.+]
The pretty, Flamboyant, two-storied building of blue stone, containing
the staircase which leads to the upper chapel, dates from 1530. The
chapel is in striking contrast with the massive "crypt" of St. Basil.
The stained-glass windows, representing the Dukes of Burgundy, are
practically copies of the magnificent windows formerly sold by the City
Authorities to a local secondhand dealer for 14 francs each, and which
now adorn an English mansion.
[Illustration: +The Shrine of St. Sang.+]
The shrine of St. Sang was made in 1614-1617 by Jean Crabbe, the Bruges
goldsmith, to replace the one destroyed in 1578. It is a very fine
piece of Renaissance workmanship in different metals studded with gems
_(Photo opposite)_.
The "Greffe".
Built in 1535-1537, the pretty façade was restored, re-gilded and
adorned with statues in 1881-1884 _(Photo, p. 93)_.
The Palais-de-Justice and Palais-du-Franc.
The chief interest of the Palais-de-Justice lies in the ancient
_Chambre Echevinale_ which contains the famous mantelpiece so often
reproduced pictorially, although no image can give an adequate idea
of its richness and splendour _(Photo above)_. In this "poem of
carved wood", the great artist, Lancelot Blondeel, expressed with
wonderful power and wealth of detail the apotheosis of Charles-Quint.
The imperial effigy, forming a central _motif_, stands out boldly
in relief. The other life-size figures which surmount the panels to
the right and left represent: _on one side_, Maximilian of Austria
and Marie of Burgundy; _on the other side_, Ferdinand of Aragon
and Isabella of Castile, ancestors of the Emperor. The mantelpiece
proper is in black marble with a frieze of alabaster representing, in
bas-relief, the story of Susannah. This masterpiece was conceived by
Blondeel and executed by Guyot de Beaugrant.
[Illustration: +Mantelpiece in the Palais-de-Justice.+]
_Leave Place du Bourg by the narrow street "Ane Aveugle", which,
passing under an arcade, runs between the "Greffe" and the
Hôtel-de-Ville, coming out at the "Marché-aux-Poissons"_ (Fish-Market).
Immediately on the left is seen the charming vista of the "Quai des
Marbriers" and "Quai Vert", one of the most deservedly renowned places
in Bruges.
That part of the "Palais du Franc" which was rebuilt in the 16th
century overlooks the canal, with its long row of gables and graceful
turrets (restored in 1880, by P. Buyck).
[Illustration: +Ruelle de l'Ane Aveugle.+]
[Illustration: +Panorama Seen from the Quai du Rosaire.+
_On the left: Church of Notre-Dame and Bridge of St. Jean de
Népomucène. On the right: The Belfry._]
[Illustration: +The Palais-de-Justice and Palais-du-Franc.+
_Seen from the Quai des Marbriers._]
[Illustration: +The Quai du Rosaire.+
_See plan between pp. 88 and 89._]
_Beyond the canal, turn to the right and cross the +Placette des
Tanneurs+ leading to_ the charming +Quai du Rosaire+ and +Le Dyver+.
The Quai du Dyver widens, and is planted with fine old trees. Opposite,
picturesque buildings, nestling amidst foliage, are reflected in
the still water. The lofty spire of Notre-Dame dominates all the
surrounding country. _The Rue Neuve Bridge is next reached_; there the
canal (formerly the river Reye), makes a sharp bend and disappears
under the building facing the bridge. _(Beyond the latter, take
the Rue Gruuthuuse as far as_ a new group of remarkable buildings:
+Notre-Dame Church+, Hôtel Gruuthuuse and +St. John's Hospital+).
The Hôtel Gruuthuuse.
This pretty structure, situated with Notre-Dame Church in a bend of the
Reye, was formerly the house of the malt tax-collector. It was leased
in the 15th century to a certain Grutarius who erected that part of the
building overlooking the Reye, a fine primitive Bruges style gable of
which still remains. The main part of the building, with its façade,
beautiful dormer windows, and a turretted staircase, was erected some
fifty years later by Louis de Gruuthuuse. The house had just been
completed when, in 1471, Gruuthuuse received King Edward IV of England,
who had been driven into exile by Warwick. At the end of the following
century, the family having become extinct, the mansion was purchased
by Philippe II. In 1628, the municipal _mont-de-piété_ was installed
there, where it remained until 1875, in which year the city acquired
the premises to house the collections of the Archæological Museum. The
mansion has been thoroughly restored in modern times.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: +Hôtel Gruuthuuse and North Transept of Notre-Dame
Church.+]
[Illustration: +Church of Notre-Dame.+]
Notre-Dame Church.
[Illustration: +The lofty spire of Notre-Dame Church dominates the
surrounding country. Its reflection is seen in the calm waters of the
"Minnewater" with that of St. Saviour's+ _(on the left)_ +and the
Belfry+ _(on the right)_.]
The church of Notre-Dame with its enormous buttressed tower surmounted
by a crocketted spire, is 400 feet high and with its satellites, St.
Saviour and the Belfry, dominates the entire city and surroundings. It
is said to be the largest brick construction in existence.
[Illustration: +Notre-Dame Church. The Nave.+]
The church is a strange mixture of restorations, additions and
alterations, which have changed its character and destroyed its
harmony. The general style is early Gothic, and reveals its 13th
century origin. Two side-aisles were added to the three original
naves, the first about the middle of the 14th century, and the second
a century later. The façade nearest the hospital, flanked with round
turrets, was badly mutilated. Recent attempts have been made to restore
it, and at the same time to suppress certain unbecoming, extraneous
masonry-work, but through lack of documents, the work was necessarily
carried out in a more or less hypothetical manner. At the foot of the
gigantic tower and in striking contrast with its severe nudity is the
Radial Gothic _Baptistère_, an ancient protruding porch dating from the
15th century, the double arcade of which was walled up to form a chapel
for the font.
In the interior one is struck, on entering, by the work of simple
juxtaposition which added a side-aisle to the original one, by opening
the arcades in the old wall and setting new pillars against the ancient
buttresses. The whole of the interior bears marks of similar treatment.
The vaulting of the naves was reconstructed in the 18th century,
when the present heavy triforium was built. The small arcades which
ornamented the walls were filled in, but portions have recently been
uncovered and restored.
The building is 237 feet long and 165 feet wide. An 18th century
rood-loft surmounted with an organ-case separates the nave from the
choir. Above the organ a triumphal cross (1594) is suspended from the
vaulting. The choir stalls, like the cathedral, bear the arms of the
Knights of the Golden Fleece, in commemoration of the 11th. Chapter
held in Notre-Dame in 1468.
The principal interest of the church lies in the works of art which it
contains: _The Virgin and Child_ by Michael Angelo, and the _Tombs of
the last two Sovereigns of the House of Burgundy: Charles-le-Téméraire
and his daughter Marie, wife of Maximilian of Austria_, whose mausoleum
at Innsbruck, is likewise a marvel.
[Illustration: +The Virgin and Child.+
_By Michael Angelo._]
[Illustration: +Tomb of Charles-le-Téméraire.+]
_The Virgin and Child_ (on the altar of the Holy Sacrament, at the end
of the right nave), was the gift of Jean Mouscroen, the donor of the
altar, who paid a hundred ducats for it to the great sculptor in 1514.
Its origin, which was long disputed, is now definitely established
_(Photo, p. 100)_.
The tombs of Charles-le-Téméraire and Marie of Burgundy, originally
placed in the choir where they worthily contributed to the decoration
of the sanctuary, were later removed to a closed chapel on the right,
formerly the old _Chanterie_--reconstituted in 1812 of the _écoutète_
Pierre Lanchals, who was tortured and beheaded in 1488 by the city
burghers. His tombstone is still to be seen there, but it is the
Burgundian tombs which retain the visitor's attention. Reproductions
of the latter abound, and several European museums (among others,
Cluny, Paris) possess plaster facsimiles. That of Marie is sixty years
earlier than her father's, and is greatly superior both in style and
execution. It is the work of Pierre Beckee of Brussels; the other is
by Junghelinck, a native of Antwerp. The _sarcophagi_ are in black
marble with recumbent life-size statues of gilded copper; on the sides
are the enamelled armorial bearings of the numerous domains belonging
to the House of Burgundy. Philippe-le-Beau dedicated this mausoleum to
his mother, who died at the age of 25 in consequence of a fall from her
horse. Later, the remains of Charles-le-Téméraire, killed at Nancy,
having been taken to Bruges, Philippe II had a tomb built for them on
the lines of the first one. At the time of the Revolution the tombs
were taken to pieces and hidden; the parts were reassembled in 1816,
thanks to a subsidy of 10,000 francs granted by Napoleon.
The church contains many 17th and 18th century pictures, several
remarkable works dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, paintings,
panels and polyptics, among others an _Adoration of the Shepherds_ by
P. Pourbus, a triptych (first chapel on the left of the Ambulatory),
and a _Transfiguration_ triptych, the central panel of which is
attributed to Mistaert (first chapel on the south side-aisle).
Claeyssens, Van Orley, Marc Gheeraerts, Gérard Zeghers _(Adoration
of the Wise Men_ (western wall)) etc.... are likewise represented. In
the Ambulatory, on the left-hand side, is the Gruuthuuse _tribune_ of
carved stone and wood, which used to communicate with the neighbouring
house and was built by Louis de Gruuthuuse in 1472. Several other
tombs are worthy of note, among others, that of _Gérard David_, the
famous painter of _The Unjust Judge_; deceased in 1523, he was buried
near the tower staircase. The Sacristy contains some fine 16th century
sacerdotal ornaments named after Marie of Burgundy.
The Cathedral of St. Saviour.
This church, with its massive tower, rises abruptly on the left. The
cemetery which formerly surrounded it has been transformed into a
public garden surrounded with railings and heavy modern pilasters. The
church was built in 1183-1228 in the fine primitive Gothic style of
the period, on the site of an ancient sanctuary which was destroyed
by fire. Vestiges of its stone foundations are still visible in the
tower. The building was frequently modified in the course of time,
hence an _ensemble_, in which figure the various periods of the Gothic
style: parts of the transept and the choir, 13th century; the naves,
14th century; the chevet and apsidal chapels, 15th and 16th centuries;
the vaulting, rebuilt in 1732; the four pinnacled spires of the tower,
completed in 1875. The principal measurements are as follows:--length:
330 feet; width: 126 feet; width at the transept: 176 feet; height: 96
feet.
[Illustration: +Cathedral of St. Saviour.+]
Like Notre-Dame _(see p. 99)_, St. Saviour's is a typical specimen of
the Flemish churches, as regards its rich furnishings, decoration and
ornaments which form a veritable collection of works of art. Access is
gained through two side doorways.
Polychrome decoration (1874-1875 by J. Bethune) replaced the previous
distemper on the walls, pillars and ribs of the vaulting, itself
believed to hide a former decoration of which no traces remain. A
marble rood-loft of the 17th century decorated with a statue of the
_The Creator_ by Quellin the Younger, and surmounted by an organ-case,
separates the nave from the choir. The latter contains curiously carved
15th century choir-stalls, above which are the armorial bearings of the
Knights of the Golden Fleece, a famous order founded by Philippe-le-Bon
in 1429, and whose 13th chapter was held in the cathedral in 1478.
The numerous paintings by local artists include: _The Martyrdom of St.
Hippolytus_, a polyptych (veiled), attributed to Dierick Boute, in the
third chapel of the ambulatory. On the left of the transept, in the
Chapelle des Cordonniers is the _Tombstone of Burgher Wautier Copman_
(1387), with its wonderful, shrouded figure--the finest tombstone
that the 14th century has left us. Opposite is _another fine stone_,
though inferior in style, i.e. that of Martin de Visch (1453). Various
tablets of brass and bronze in relief, carved wood altar-pieces, tombs
of bishops, the shrine of Charles-le-Bon, etc ..., besides the art
treasures in the _Salle des Marguilliers_ and sacristy, are worthy of
note.
The St. John Hospital.
The broad gateway of this building, with its low vaulting, opens out in
front of Notre-Dame, from which it is separated by Rue St. Catherine.
A little further on, the old entrance, now walled-up, has retained
its small corner columns and double tympanum, the latter containing
a rare specimen of 13th century decorative art, i.e. two high
reliefs depicting: _The Death of the Virgin_ and _The Burial Scene_.
Unfortunately, the entrance has been entirely restored in such a manner
as to take away much of the interest which attached to the mutilated
structure.
[Illustration: +Rue St. Catherine, River Reye, and Hôpital St. Jean.+]
Here the Rue St. Catherine crosses the Reye, in whose waters are
reflected the gloomy walls, pierced with high windows, and the stepped
gables of the hospital, forming one of the most striking sights of old
Bruges _(Photo above)_.
The building dates from the 13th century and contains a number of
_antiques_ together with the names of the donors. Behind the remarkable
old building facing the street, a new hospital was built in 1856 on
the site of the cemetery; fortunately, the uninteresting appearance of
these modern constructions is hidden by the old buildings.
The hospital includes a small museum, in which are kept the famous
works of Hans Memling, classified under the following names: _The
Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine_ (large folding altar-piece), _The
Adoration of the Child Jesus_ (triptych with oak panels), _Sibylle
Sambetha_ (portrait of Mary Moreel, from the Hospital of St. Julien),
_The Virgin with Apple_ (a diptych of the same origin), and lastly,
the famous _Shrine of St. Ursula_, made of wood, with double gables,
about 34 inches high, 36 inches long, and 13 inches wide, bearing
on its sides, framed with archings and separated by small columns,
representations of the six episodes from the Legend of St. Ursula and
the eleven thousand Virgins. _(Photo p. 104.)_
[Illustration: +St. Ursula's Shrine.+]
The two panels of the gables represent the Saint and the Madonna
respectively; 6 medallions, attributed to a pupil of Memling, decorate
the roof.
The six side panels represent the episodes of the legend: 1, _St.
Ursula landing at Cologne_; 2, _Passing through Basle_; 3, _Reception
in Rome_ (the masterpiece of the series); 4, _Return to Basle_; 5, _The
Massacre of the Virgins at Cologne_; 6, _Death of St. Ursula (Photo
opposite)_.
About sixty pictures of great value complete the Hospital Museum,
together with a number of relics and pieces of carving. Most of them
are by unknown masters. Among others, the masterpiece by Van Oost the
Elder, the _Meditating Christian_, is especially worthy of notice. The
hospital contains other curiosities, such as the Chapel, the Dispensary
with its ancient furniture and fittings, and the old patients' ward
with its double vaulted nave.