Exploring Monkey

Address: Dijver 12, 8000 Brugge, Belgium

Location of Jerusalem Church, Bruges – Corner of Balstraat, Jerusalemstraat,

One can have day trips from Bruges to nearby towns.  The journey is exhilarating due to the wonderful scenic beauty of the countryside.  Some of these places include –

Though it is a small city, there are a number of tourist places in Bruges. There are numerous churches, museums, squares (9 of them), bridges (the town has over 54 of them), parks, greens, lakes, canals, city gates, windmills, bell tower, city hall et al. It’s one amazing “medieval” package !

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The Chapel of the Holy Blood (Heilige Bloed Basiliek) is where the small vial is kept which is believed to contain a piece of cloth stained with the blood of Christ said to have been wiped from his body by Jeseph of Arimathea, after the crucifixion. It was brought to Bruges in […]

This church is located in the Burg square near the Town Hall. It has two chapels. It has an ornate façade and has some small golden hued statues atop. It is a small chapel. The lower one is the St. Basil (a figure of the Greek church) chapel and a wide staircase leads to the […]

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The Madonna of Bruges depicts Mary with the infant Jesus. It is sculpted in marble.  The statue depicts a seated Mary with the toddler Jesus trying to take a step and being lightly supported by Mary’s left arm and leg. It is exactly what toddlers do when they have just learned to […]

A little walk down Mariastraat onto Katelijnestraat and turning right into Wijngaardstraat one would come upon the Beguinage of Bruges and Wijngaardplein. The Beguinage is across the bridge over the canal. This is located just north of Minnewater. It is essentially rows of dwellings which were earlier used by the “Beguines”. There is a church, […]

A good walk further south of the Markt Square, off Mariastraat is located the Church of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk), famous for the amazing Michelangelo Sculpture of Madonna and the Child. The church dates back to the 13th century and even today this remains the tallest structure in the city with its tower at over 400 ft. […]

The Belfry of Bruges or Belfort is a bell tower with history dating as far back as 1240 when construction was started on the halls and the tower. By 1280 it was ready. The structure included the four wings of the cloth hall and the square parts of the belfry.  The square tower was crowned […]