VirtualBruges - Museums

The Church of Our Lady is one of the oldest and largest parish churches in Bruges. The choir of this beautifully decorated church is linked to the former Gruuthuse Palace, which now accommodates the Gruuthuse Museum, by the prayer gallery. Services are still held in the main part of the church. There are no guided tours during church services. The sanctuary is separated from the main part of the church by a Baroque organ rood screen. The ceremonial tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold are kept here. These are both masterpieces of Flemish Brabant tombstone and copper work. Differences in style show that the dates of the two tombs are several decades apart. The ceremonial tomb of the Duchess is clearly late Gothic, while the Duke's points more towards the Renaissance. The series of well-preserved 15th century painted escutcheons above the choir stalls are associated with the knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. That order held an important meeting here in 1468 to decide its own future.
	The Passion Triptych and a fragment of wall fresco depicting St.-Louis, which is rare for Bruges, are also highly recommended. The fresco is by Barend van Orley and Marcus Gerards, and it was commissioned and painted between 1534 and 1561. It shows the signs of a Gothic style which was dying out.

Opening hours
April-September	October-March
10.00 - 11.30 h 14.30 h - 17.00 h	10.00 h - 11.30 h 14.30 h - 16.30 h
Closed on Sunday morning, Saturday from 16.00 h. All the museums are closed on the 1st of January, Ascension day (afternoon) and the 25th of December