Holy Blood Basilica
The Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges is the oldest building in the architecturally most important square of Bruges, the castle in the immediate vicinity of the market . The double church consists of the Basilius Chapel as a lower church and an upper church. The sacred building is the repository of one of the most important relics in Europe - an ampoule with the blood of Christ . It has had the rank of minor basilica since 1923 .
history
In the 9th century there was a fortress to protect the coast from the Vikings . The double church consists of a Romanesque lower church - the Basilius Chapel - completed in 1149 and an upper church, which was destroyed by French troops in 1790 but rebuilt in the 19th century.
particularities
The ampoule with the blood of Christ is kept in a silver reliquary (from 1661). The Bruges-born count and crusader Dietrich von Alsace is said to have received this relic for brave deeds during the Second Crusade in Jerusalem . The relic has been carried through the city on Ascension Day during the Holy Blood procession since 1291 . The Holy Blood Procession was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 .
literature
- Livia Snauwaert: Gids voor architectuur in Brugge , Tielt 2002, pp. 58–60 (Dutch)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Kerstin Schweighöfer: Antwerp Bruges Gent. Merian, Munich 2015, p. 99 (travel guide)
- ↑ gcatholic.org
- ^ Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges 2009
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 12 ′ 29.3 " N , 3 ° 13 ′ 36.1" E