Fodor's Expert Review Heilig Bloed Basiliek
The Basilica of the Holy Blood manages to include both the austere and the ornate under one roof—not to mention one of Europe's most precious relics. The 12th-century Lower Chapel retains a stern, Romanesque character. Look for the poignant, 14th-century Pietà and the carved statue of Christ in the crypt. From this sober space, the elaborate, external late-Gothic De Steegheere staircase, with a reconstructed bluestone facade, leads to the stunningly lavish Upper Chapel, which was twice destroyed—by Protestant iconoclasts in the 16th century and by French Republicans in the 18th—but both times rebuilt. (Note that the Upper Chapel is closed to visitors during Eucharistic Mass on Friday and Sunday 10:45–12:15.) The original stained-glass windows were replaced in 1845, and then again after an explosion in 1967, when they were restored by the Bruges painter De Loddere. The basilica's namesake treasure is a vial thought to contain a few drops of the blood of Christ, brought from Jerusalem... READ MORE
The Basilica of the Holy Blood manages to include both the austere and the ornate under one roof—not to mention one of Europe's most precious relics. The 12th-century Lower Chapel retains a stern, Romanesque character. Look for the poignant, 14th-century Pietà and the carved statue of Christ in the crypt. From this sober space, the elaborate, external late-Gothic De Steegheere staircase, with a reconstructed bluestone facade, leads to the stunningly lavish Upper Chapel, which was twice destroyed—by Protestant iconoclasts in the 16th century and by French Republicans in the 18th—but both times rebuilt. (Note that the Upper Chapel is closed to visitors during Eucharistic Mass on Friday and Sunday 10:45–12:15.) The original stained-glass windows were replaced in 1845, and then again after an explosion in 1967, when they were restored by the Bruges painter De Loddere. The basilica's namesake treasure is a vial thought to contain a few drops of the blood of Christ, brought from Jerusalem in 1149 by Derick of Alsace when he returned from the Second Crusade. It is exposed in the Upper Chapel every Friday 10:15–11, and every afternoon 2–3 (sometimes until 4): queue up to place your right hand on the vial and take a moment for quiet reflection. On Ascension Day, it becomes the centerpiece of the magnificent De Heilig Bloedprocessie (Procession of the Holy Blood), a major medieval-style pageant in which it is carried through the streets of Bruges. The small museum next to the basilica is the usual home of the basilica's namesake reliquary.
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