Church of Our Lady, Michelangelo, and Tombs

We continued on our walk to the towering Church of Our Lady, which stands as a memorial to the power and wealth of Bruges in its heyday, mainly from the 13th through 15th centuries. Its tower, at over 400 feet in height, remains the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world (the tallest being St. Martin's Church in Landshut, Germany).

Like most of Belgium, the church is Catholic; and worshippers are attended by twelve Gothic-era statues of apostles (each with his symbol) and a grandiose Baroque wooden pulpit with a roof that seems to float in midair. The church is brighter today than it originally was because the 14th and 15th century stained glass windows were destroyed by the iconoclasts.

A delicate statue by Michelangelo, "Madonna and Child," is near the apse and is somewhat overwhelmed by the ornate Baroque niche in which it sits. The work was originally intended for an altar in the Sienna Cathedral. But Mr. Mouscron of Bruges, a wealthy businessman involved in the cloth trade (who is buried in the same chapel to the right), bought it in Tuscany and brought it to the Church of Our Lady. It is said to be the only Michelangelo statue to leave Italy during the artist's lifetime.

As the artist chipped away at his young "David," he took breaks by carving this statue in 1504. Mary, slightly smaller than life-size, is sitting while young Jesus stands in front of her. Their expressions are mirror images--serene, but a bit melancholy, with downcast eyes--both appearing to ponder the young child's dangerous future. Though they are lost in thought, their hands instinctively link and tenderly link. The white Carrara marble is highly polished, something Michelangelo only did when he was certain he'd gotten it right,

The sculpture was twice recovered after being looted by foreign occupiers--French revolutionaries in 1794 and the Nazis, of course, in 1944.

Daniella also walked us to the gilded bronze reclining effigies reposing at full length on polished slabs of black stone at the high altar. These mark the tombs of the last local rulers of Bruges: Duchess Mary of Burgundy and her father, Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke of Burgundy. Both are crowned, and Charles is in full armor and wearing the decoration of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The dog and lion at their feet are symbols of fidelity and courage. Underneath the tombs are the actual excavated gravesites with mirrors to help you enjoy the well-lit centuries-old tomb paintings.

In 1482, when 25-year-old Mary tumbled from a horse and died, she left behind a toddler son and a husband who was heir to the Holy Roman Empire. Charles the Bold also died prematurely in war. Their twin deaths meant Bruges belonged to Austria and would soon be swallowed up by the empire, ruled from Vienna by the Hapsburgs--who didn't understand or care about Bruges' problems.

Next, we headed to the Saint John Hospital and the Memling Museum.