Points of Interest & Landmarks • Architectural Buildings
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Architectural Buildings in Bruges
THE 10 BEST Bruges Architectural Buildings
Architectural Buildings in Bruges
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Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
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Points of Interest & Landmarks • Architectural Buildings
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Historic Sites • Points of Interest & Landmarks
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Historic Sites • Points of Interest & Landmarks
Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
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Architectural Buildings • Churches & Cathedrals
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Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
What travelers are saying
- Ffion G22 contributionsExcellent activity to do in Bruges! 366 steps is harder than it sounds and it does get narrow but don’t let that put you off at all as it goes quickly (only took us about 10 minutes) and the views are 100% worth it! The queue to get in was about 20 minutes and we had bought a tickets on the machine in the entrance (but you have to buy them a few hours in advance if you use the machine)Written August 27, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Olaf Johansen27 contributionsThe Basilica of the Holy Blood is an important religious site with a stunning interior. The relic of the Holy Blood, said to contain drops of Christ's blood, is an awe-inspiring sight. The lower chapel is atmospheric and peaceful. The upper chapel is a contrast with its vibrant Gothic design. A must-visit for its spiritual and historical significance.Written August 27, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Thomas VOakland, CA17,499 contributionsIt's the city hall and it is located on one of the big squares. The gothic architecture is very pleasing and it is one of the most photographed sites in town.Written June 22, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- pfefmeisterSan Francisco, CA4,374 contributionsWe walked around the outer canal and visited three of the windmills - way bigger than I expected. Nice parkland surrounding and leading up to these historic artifacts. It’s a ways outside the old town section, but, once you’ve run out of options, cruise over here for something unique.Written May 1, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- TrainbleuBrussels, Belgium37,503 contributionsThe ‘Oude Civiele Griffie’ (1537) on the Burg square is one of the oldest Renaissance building in Flanders. However, it’s present-day beautiful façade seems to be the result of a historicist reconstruction by city architect Louis Delacenserie in 1875 and later renovations. The statues, which were destroyed by the French revolution, were replaced by new gilded statues by Hendrik Pickery in 1883.
The main sight is the former Aldermen’s Chamber of the Liberty of Bruges, both government and court room. It’s an opulent Renaissance room with a coffered ceiling, wood-panelling, wall hangings and paintings. The most impressive feature is the monumental and intricate 16th century mantelpiece, a tribute to emperor Charles V and the Hapsburg dynasty. We had a closer look at it because of its historical value, but found it rather awful. There is way too much going on. A central oak statue represents Emperor Charles V surrounded by the coats of arms of the many regions he ruled over, interspersed with putti. He is flanked by the statues of his paternal and maternal grandparents. Portrait medallions show the emperor’s father, mother, sister and aunt, commander Charles de Lannoy, and King Francis 1 of France, husband of the emperor’s sister Eleanor.
Under the wooden upper part an alabaster frieze telling the biblical story of Susanna - unjustly accused of adultery by two elders, but rescued by Daniel's cross-examination - reminds the aldermen of their responsibility. The four chubby putti decorating the corners of the mantelpiece represent the judicial virtues of temperance, prudence, justice and strength. The black fireback, finally, shows a wild man and a wild woman with three thistles between them holding the coat of arms of the Liberty of Bruges.
On the opposite wall there are portraits of the descendants of Charles V: Philip II, Isabella and Archduke Albrecht, Philips III, Philips IV, Charles II, Charles VI and Maria Teresa. On a desk there are three historic silver ink stands. The tasselled cord next to one of them is connected to a bell that was used to call people into the Aldermen’s’ Chamber. We tried to imagine how the waiting accused must have felt by looking at a painting in the museum. It shows the public execution by hanging on the Burg square in 1767 of an old man found guilty of fraud by the Council of the Burgomasters and Aldermen of the Liberty of Bruges.Written January 4, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - T DPhiladelphia, PA4,434 contributionsThe Provinciaal Hof is in the Center - at the Markt. Entrance is free and you can walk up two levels. A Cafe is inside as well. WC is in the basement and can be used for 1 Euro (accepts cash or credit card).Written June 3, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Raintree_ThailandBangkok, Thailand4,287 contributionsSt. James' Church is one of the less frequented by tourists in Bruge, bsut well worth a visit. It's somewhat dark inside and less grand than other Bruges church, but it has lots of beautiful old paintings. Free entry.Written January 19, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- pakabayAdelaide, Australia2,509 contributionsLocated in the quiet and mostly residential St Giles District, this church is striking because of its timber vaulted ceiling which is quite remarkable.
It also has a clock on its tower. Whilst not as grand as the cathedral’s of Bruges, the carved, 3D like Stations of the Cross are quite extraordinary, as is the stained glass work.Written March 26, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - TrainbleuBrussels, Belgium37,503 contributionsSeen from Spiegelrei or Spinolarei the Burghers’ Lodge (Poortersloge), with its characteristic spire, makes for an iconic, picture-perfect view. It is definitely the visual highlight of Jan Van Eyckplein. Built between 1395 and 1417 in what was then a very busy international port area, it housed the meetings of prominent citizens with their trade partners and the Knightly Society of the White Bear, which organized tournaments in Bruges until the 15th century. The famous emblem of the Society, an upright bear holding its coat of arms, is still to be found in a niche on the corner of Academiestraat. In later years, the lodge served, among others, as an art school (1720–1890) and the city archives (1912-2012). Today, it is a contemporary arts venue. The Latin inscription over the monumental door at Academiestraat 18 "Ut phoenix ex cenere su Brugensium dono revivisco" (Like a Phoenix from its ashes, I rise thanks to the liberality of the people of Bruges) and the date 1755 remind of the fire that destroyed the building in 1755. The present-day appearance is the result of modifications made in the 19th century.Written January 11, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- TrainbleuBrussels, Belgium37,503 contributionsThe brick Boechoute House, going back to the 15th century, is said to be the oldest building on Bruges’ market square. It must have been heavily renovated though because it looks like new. The intriguing features are the meteorological and astronomical devices installed on the façade and the roof.
The first one, dating from the 17th century, provided merchants waiting for their incoming sailing ships with crucial information about wind directions. What we at first took to be a clock on the façade of the house is in fact a compass rose mechanically linked to the gilded wind vane on the roof.
The second device was installed in 1837 by Belgian mathematician and astronomer Adolphe Quetelet (1796 - 1874) to improve the punctuality of the new railway line from Brussels to Bruges. He combined a gilded copper sphere on top of the house as shadow casting device with a meridian line traced on the market square. Today it is marked with with copper nails. The original copper globe has been replaced in 1995.Written December 20, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - City Tours BelgiumBruges, Belgium514 contributionsThis city palace in the Naaldenstraat is freely accessible. The door is open between 2 pm and 5 pm. Just hop in and enjoy this quiet corner of Bruges. It was built in 1435 by order of Pieter Bladelin. Several arcades surround the courtyard. In the middle there is a small garden. It is worth taking a short detour to enjoy the peace and beauty of the courtyard. The tower gives it a certain grandeur. That's obvious because right on the spot there was a bank branch of the powerful banking family Medici from Florence.Written August 19, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- TrainbleuBrussels, Belgium37,503 contributionsVisiting the calm and rather dull Jan Van Eyckplein today it is difficult to imagine this square was once the heart of a very lively port with ships arriving via the Langerei and Spiegelrei canals and toll being collected at the now disappeared St John’s Bridge. Yet some buildings on the square, like the Toll House and the so-called Pijndershuis (House of the Stevedores) still remind of this glorious past. Like always in Bruges, though, they look too good to be true and are probably less medieval than they look. Architect Louis Delacenserie (1838–1909) probably had a hand in this.Written January 1, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- BradHong Kong, China174,577 contributionsThis is a historic 15th-century mansion house located next to the Nepomucenusbrug bridge crossing of Dijver. The building like so many offers an attractive facade worth enjoying for a moment or two while walking down Wollestraat, perhaps while nibbling on chocolates you may have just purchased from the shops that line this street.
Today the Huiz Perez de Malvenda building is occupied by a shop called 2BE which sells food, drink and other Bruges related souvenirs. As such, little see of the interior other than shelves lined with merchandise.Written January 29, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - M DBengaluru, India1,117 contributionsThe Barge bridge in Bruges is said to be the most romantic bridge here and is also called Lover's bridge. It connects the Minnewater park with Barge square.Written September 6, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- TrainbleuBrussels, Belgium37,503 contributionsWe didn’t know what to make of the house of the Florentine merchant community in Bruges, the so-called ‘Florentine Lodge’ (‘Florentijnse loge’ in Dutch). The present-day bell-gabled house seems to have very little in common with the original ‘Domus Florentinorum'. On the Byrsa Brugensis engraving (Flandria illustrata, 1641) showing the Old Stock Exchange Square in Bruges, the trade representation of the Florentines appears as a flat-roofed house with very tall corner turrets and very similar rows of square windows on all storeys. On the ground floor there is a large awning over some benches. We couldn't check if there are more traces of the glorious past of the house inside.Written December 26, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
