Church of Our Lady, Bruges, Belgium

The Church of Our Lady in Bruges dates mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Its tower, at 122.3 metres in height, remains the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world.

In the choir space behind the high altar are the tombs of Charles the Bold, last Valois Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter, the duchess Mary. The gilded bronze effigies of both father and daughter repose at full length on polished slabs of black stone. Both are crowned, and Charles is represented in full armor and wearing the decoration of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

The altarpiece of the large chapel in the southern aisle enshrines the most celebrated art treasure of the church—a white marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child created by Michelangelo around 1504. Probably meant originally for Siena Cathedral, it was purchased in Italy by two Brugean merchants, the brothers Jan and Alexander Mouscron, and in 1514 donated to its present home. The sculpture was twice recovered after being looted by foreign occupiers—French revolutionaries c. 1794 and Nazi Germans in 1944. Close to the Michelangelo statue important Brugeans are buried such as Françoise de Haveskercke, buried next to her husband in the black tomb of the Haveskercke family on the right side of the statue.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Belgium

User Reviews

Gasgas (3 months ago)
A fantastic church the architecture is really interesting and it also has a lot of exhibits in it.really interesting and the history is amazing. There is a piece of wall with the old Muriel on it from after 1380, There is a sculpture with a piece of arm bone from St. Anthony the Abbot. There is a painting 'Our Lady of Perpetual Succour' 1660 and lots more.

Renz L (4 months ago)
Amazing church. Very rich in history and a museum also. You can spare a couple of change, just to view the magnificent work of michealangelo or just view the paintings inside this church.

Valerie Paxton (5 months ago)
One of my favorite churches in the world. Absolutely beautiful. You can enter the church for free but it is very much worth the price to see the additional areas with the painted graves, additional frescos, coats of arms of the knights of the golden fleece, tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold, and of course Michelangelo's Madonna with Child sculpture.

Shona Floyd (7 months ago)
Beautiful place pop into for a visit if in Brugge. The pulpit has to be seen to be believed and the vaulted ceiling is simply an amazing feat of engineering! Some beautiful religious iconography to view including a reliquary with some of the arm bone of St. Anthony The Abbot (in pics). There is another area with more art but this is a paid area and we didn't visit this time.

Irwin Mier (10 months ago)
Beautiful interior. The fact that a Michelangelo statue is here makes this church a worthy place to stop at. You can feel the Flemish heritage here and the medieval vibes.

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Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.

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