Basilica of the Holy Blood of Christ (Heilig-Bloedbasiliek)
The Basilica of the Holy Blood of Christ is located in the southwestern part of Burg Square. The lower part of the structure is the Chapel of St. Basil, a Romanesque basilica over which an upper superstructure in Gothic style was made in the 15th century. St. Basil’s Chapel has survived to this day in its original form, it is the only Romanesque church in West Flanders. The most valuable asset of the basilica is the reliquary of gold and silver with precious stones (Jan Krabe), where a crystal vial with a cloth with traces of the Holy Blood is kept. It was brought to Bruges from Constantinople in the XIII century, and since then, every year, on Ascension Day, a procession of the Holy Blood passes through the decorated city streets. The basilica’s magnificent stained glass windows, broken during the French Revolution, were restored in 1885.
