Last day in Bruges

 We explored a couple of churches and museums today, but our favorite parts of the day included lunch and chocolates. 

The 2 Churches were the Jerusalem Church and Church of Our Lady.  The Jerusalem Church dated back to the 14th century and included the property that still belongs to the ancestors of the man who built the chapel. They are the 17th generation to inherit the property. The tour included the history dating back centuries, of how the owner came to build the chapel after traveling to Jerusalem and seeing where Jesus was intombed. He tried to replicate the church he saw there and pay tribute through this chapel. Supposedly some of the relics he brought back included a piece of Jesus' cross and it is displayed in the chapel. 

We visited the mansion of one of the wealthiest residents of Bruges which dated back to the 1400s. The museum included other relics from earlier centuries. 

Besides a wonderful lunch at a restaurant our nephew Jeffrey recommended and a visit to a chocolate shop, the rest of our day was quiet. We leave at 5:20 tomorrow morning to fly to Switzerland. I wanted to get a full day in in Switzerland but I'm not sure the timing of this was the best idea. 

             View from the upper floor of the mansion. This is the Love bridge which included tombstones in the construction.

                                                        Jerusalem Chapel 


                                 The mausoleum of the original owner and his wife in the middle of the chapel. He was murdered in Scotland, but they brought his heart back to bury next to his wife. 

                                                                A piece of the cross is encased in this.


                                                Does anyone know what this is? It was in the Chapel.





                                   Above from Church of Our Lady, the last one includes an arm bone from a Saint. I'm not sure why the skull in there. 
        Below are pictures from the mansion we toured.

                                                        



                                            details of the fireplace below





                                            kitchen
                              Ledgers from the mansion owner's records of all business conducted in Bruges. It provided a lot of details for Historians who studied Bruges.
                                            Corbels from the 11th century
                                            Challises from the 1400s
                                   dated 1563, enlarge it to see the screaming faces carved into the piece. I think they were meant to scare away evil. 
                                            Reminds me of china my mother had from her grandmother who was Dutch.
                                            Gold leather wallpaper














                                            
                                            Lunch


                                                            Couldn't decide between chocolate or waffles! Problem solved!

                                                            B&B breakfast room
                                                        I love these windows


                                                        back of a park bench

Comments

  1. Mary DegelmanApril 13, 2026 at 9:14 PM

    If Switzerland is anything like Bruges and Paris, it will be worth it to get up early

    ReplyDelete

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