Back in time once more to the 4th of July. The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of our Lady) is another beautiful church I had the great pleasure to visit. It is the one I focused in on as I tried to find downtown after getting off the train - it dominates the skyline. Currently it is underdoing some pretty substantial renovations - about 3/4 of the steeple is wrapped cocoon-like. In the end I probably spent around an hour here and really enjoyed the experience. The church construction began in the 13th century and, as was typical for the age, took around two hundred years to complete. It is famous for having an actual Michelangelo sculpture (Madonna and Child), one of the few of his works that made its way outside of Italy. The statue was sculpted in 1504 and some Bruges merchant purchased it. You can also pay an additional 2 euro to visit the museum, which I did, to see some more paintings. I really enjoyed two bronze statues, placed side by side, which served to mark the final resting place of Charles the Bold, who died in 1477, and his daughter Mary of Burgundy, who died in 1482 at the tender age of twenty-five after falling off a horse. While there I also visited the Gruuthuse Museum, based on a building constructed for Lodewijk von Gruuthuse - my favorite part being the room that he had constructed that looked out into the church. The room was really basic, but I loved the idea behind it and the view of the interior of the church was pretty amazing.
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