MUSEUMS OF BRUGES
Bruges is not only a city of magnificent medieval architecture, but also a huge number of interesting museums. Every art lover will find something for himself here. These museums hide the works of the masters of Flemish painting, whose works to this day excited lovers of painting, as well as paintings by foreign artists. Less interested in art, tourists can visit the museum of diamonds, the chocolate museum or the beer museum.
Gruuthuse Museum |
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This very interesting museum is housed in a 15th-century building. Its name probably comes from the word Gruut , a herbal mixture that was used before hops. The owners of this house, the Lords of Gruuthuse, had the exclusive right to charge tax on this herbal mixture. The most famous member of this family was Lodewijk van Gruuthuse, Knight of the Golden Fleece. The museum adjoins the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which we can see the magnificent marble sculpture of Michelangelo Mother of God with a Child .
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The museum building itself is an example of the masterwork of builders of era. A great collection of applied and decorative art has been gathered in many great rooms. In addition to paintings and sculptures, silverware, lace, ceramics, musical instruments and wonderful tapestries are also on display.
The pearl of the museum is made of oak boards over a 500-year-old chapel. Thanks to her, the house owners did not have to leave the house to worship God. The chapel protrudes above the first floor so that you can see the high altar of the neighboring cathedral.
The pearl of the museum is made of oak boards over a 500-year-old chapel. Thanks to her, the house owners did not have to leave the house to worship God. The chapel protrudes above the first floor so that you can see the high altar of the neighboring cathedral.
Address:
Dijver 17, 8000 Brugge |
Opening hours:
Monday-Sunday: 9.30-17.00 |
Ticket price:
Adults-12 Euro
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Groeninge Museum is from 1930 a year in a building designed by architect Józef Vierin. In year 1995 also the neighboring neo-Gothic building became a museum. Its creator is the architect Jean Baptiste Bethune.
The museum offers rich collections of works of Belgian artists. The most valuable include the world-famous collection of Flemish primitives, such as: Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes, or Gerard David. There are also paintings by Renaissance and Baroque artists, a dozen works from neoclassicism and realism, the most important works of symbolists and modernists, outstanding works of Flemish expressionists such as Permeke, De Smet, Van den Berhge, Brusselmans or Tygat, and a large selection of modern art ( after 1945 year). The international reputation of Groeningemuseum is caused not only by an exceptional permanent collection, but also by the organization of prestigious temporary exhibitions, which take place here regularly.
The museum offers rich collections of works of Belgian artists. The most valuable include the world-famous collection of Flemish primitives, such as: Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes, or Gerard David. There are also paintings by Renaissance and Baroque artists, a dozen works from neoclassicism and realism, the most important works of symbolists and modernists, outstanding works of Flemish expressionists such as Permeke, De Smet, Van den Berhge, Brusselmans or Tygat, and a large selection of modern art ( after 1945 year). The international reputation of Groeningemuseum is caused not only by an exceptional permanent collection, but also by the organization of prestigious temporary exhibitions, which take place here regularly.
The room No. 1 collected works from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Particularly noteworthy are the works of Gerard David (Justice of King Cambyses, Baptism of Christ), or Hieronymus Bosch (The final judgment).
Room No. 2 exposes the Flemish Primitiveists. You can admire the real masters: Jan van Eyck (Madonna and Child with canon George van der Paele or miniature Portrait of Margaret van Eyck ), who is considered the first master of that period. We will also see here the paintings of the wonderful Hans Memling (Tryel Moreel). This painting, painted in 1484 a year for the prominent Moreel family, confirms the artist's mastery. His more well-known work is kept by the Memling Museum in Bruges. Thanks to the extraordinary ability to reflect the details and create the right texture, the Flemish primitivists were able to convey the reality with almost photographic accuracy.
In the room no. 3 are the works of artists from the Renaissance period in Bruges, among others Jan Provoost and Pieter Pourbus.
Room No. 9 presents modern Belgian art. Works by such artists as Henry van de Velde, Jean Brusselmans, Rik Wouters and Constant Permeke are here. Particular attention is drawn to the picture Last Supper Gustave van de Woestyne.
In the same room are also pictures of outstanding surrealists: Rene Magritte (Attempt) and Paul Delvaux (Calm).
Room No. 2 exposes the Flemish Primitiveists. You can admire the real masters: Jan van Eyck (Madonna and Child with canon George van der Paele or miniature Portrait of Margaret van Eyck ), who is considered the first master of that period. We will also see here the paintings of the wonderful Hans Memling (Tryel Moreel). This painting, painted in 1484 a year for the prominent Moreel family, confirms the artist's mastery. His more well-known work is kept by the Memling Museum in Bruges. Thanks to the extraordinary ability to reflect the details and create the right texture, the Flemish primitivists were able to convey the reality with almost photographic accuracy.
In the room no. 3 are the works of artists from the Renaissance period in Bruges, among others Jan Provoost and Pieter Pourbus.
Room No. 9 presents modern Belgian art. Works by such artists as Henry van de Velde, Jean Brusselmans, Rik Wouters and Constant Permeke are here. Particular attention is drawn to the picture Last Supper Gustave van de Woestyne.
In the same room are also pictures of outstanding surrealists: Rene Magritte (Attempt) and Paul Delvaux (Calm).
Address:
Dijver 12, 8000 Brugge |
Opening hours:
Monday closed Tuesday-Sunday: 9.30-17.00 |
Ticket price:
Adults-12 Euro |
Memling Museum (Sint-Janshospitaal) this magnificent museum is located in the medieval building of the former St. John in Bruges, a building with over eight hundred years of history, which makes it one of the oldest surviving hospital buildings in Europe. The hospital received patients from the twelfth to the mid-nineteenth century, when it was moved to a neo-gothic white brick building, where patients were admitted until 1978 a year. The museum has exhibits resembling the purpose of this medieval building. There are furniture, pewter vessels, silverware, medical instruments, reliquaries and archival documents. An additional value is the fact that the exhibits exhibited here are closely connected with this place and with the inhabitants of Bruges. Many exhibited objects have been ordered by the local community. The building houses the Hospital Museum and the old pharmacy next to the Memling Museum.
The museum was placed in the old infirmary. It is also worth visiting the attic of the building and the interesting old pharmacy or herb garden. However, what undoubtedly attracts a lot of tourists is exposed in the hospital chapel. There are six masterpieces by Hans Memling.
Hans Memling is one of the greatest painters of the Flemish primitive. He was born in Germany, but in the 1465 settled in Bruges. Here he created his most important works, including the famous reliquary of St. Ursula, which was painted specifically for the hospital St. John.
Of the six hanging his master works here deserve special attention two outstanding: Mystical marriage of St. Catherine and Reliquary of St. Ursula.
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Triptych Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine the artist painted for the hospital church in the 1479 year. The main panel of the work presents Saint Catherine receiving during the mystical contemplation the ring from Baby Jesus. The ring symbolizes the sealing of their spiritual relationship. This symbolic gesture presented by Memling caused that the work was called for years Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine. Nevertheless, it is devoted to the Virgin Mary and the two Jonhs, the Baptist and the Evangelist. It is also known under the name Triptych Saint John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. On the right side of the main character stands Saint Barbara, a symbol of good deeds.
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The side panels of the triptych show the beheading of John the Baptist and the vision of St. John the Evangelist, writing down the Apocalypse, on the naked island of Patmos. It is believed that the triptych Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine is one of the three greatest painted by Hans Memling. The others are: hanging in the Museum in Gdansk, painted in 1467 year, the final judgment , and Triptych from 1491 year exhibited at the museum in Lübeck.
Reliquary of Saint Ursula is a wooden, gilded miniature of a gothic church, which the artist decorated with six painted scenes from the history of St. Ursula and ten virgins of martyrs. Presented in the paintings of Saint Ursula goes with her companions to Rome (during this trip, in Germany, the women were murdered by the Huns). The work delights especially with the enormous number of details painted in the background and the concern for the harmony of the image, which is the result of his taste for the classical style. Although the reliquary was given to hospital St. John, there is no signature, as opposed to the Triptychs John Floreins and Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine that were also ordered by the same institution. It is believed that this is due to the fact that the paintings were to draw attention to the donors and the creator of the works, while in the case of the reliquary, we are dealing with a purely liturgical object. The remains of Saint Ursula were placed in this magnificent reliquary during the great ceremony which took place in the chapel of the st. John hospital of the 21 October 1489 year. Probably earlier relics of the saint were kept in a more modest reliquary from the 14th century, which is also exhibited among the exhibits in the museum. |
Address:
Mariastraat 38, 8000 Brugge |
Opening time:
Monday closed Tue-Sun 9.30-17.00 |
Ticket price:
Adults-12 Euro |
Museum Salvadora Dali-the museum of this great Spanish artist was placed in the cloth hall, on the left from the main entrance to the belfry. A great collection of his famous graphics and sculptures has been collected here. Audiobook (Dutch, French or English) guides visitors through the collection. The exhibition is permanent, but the collections are changed from year to year to show the diversity of this artist's art.
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Address:
Museum-Galeria Xpo Salvador Dali Markt 7, 8000 Brugge Opening time: Monday-sunday 10.00-18.00 Ticket price: Adults-10 Euro |
Museum Pablo Picasso is located in the historic complex of the former St. John. A permanent exhibition of more than 120 original works by Pablo Picasso was organized here. You can admire the engravings, illustrations, drawings and ceramics of this world-famous artist. The exhibition presents the evolution of his work, from the Spanish period, through cubism, to surrealism. The exhibition also includes some 200 works of his friends, such as Rodin, Miro, Chagall, Matisse, Rene Magritte, Auguste Renoir, and even several paintings by Claude Monet .
Address:
Mariastraat 38, 8000 Brugge |
Opening hours:
Monday-Sunday 10.00-18.00 |
Ticket price:
Adults-10 Euro |
For tourists who like to visit museums, but not necessarily those with art, Bruges also has something to offer. You can visit the Diamond Museum, the Fries Museum or the Chocolate Museum.
Museum of Diamonds is located in a small building at Katelijnestraat 43. It tells an extraordinary story in which Bruges participated as the oldest center of diamond grinding in Europe.
Here the technique of cutting diamonds was used for the first time over 500 years ago. A diamond-grinding show is held here every day. Under a special microscope, visitors can discover the true beauty of these precious stones. Address: Katelijnestraat 43, 8000 Brugge Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10.30-17.30 Ticket price: Adults-8 Euro |
Fries Museum is located in Saaihalle, a magnificent building from the fourteenth century. Visitors will learn about the history of potatoes, Belgian fries, and various sauces, which in Belgium are an inseparable addition to fries.
Address:
Vlamingstraat 33, 8000 Brugge Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10.00-17.00 Ticket prices: Adults-7 Euro |
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Museum of chocolate just like the French fries museum, children will be the most happy. The museum immerses its guests in the history of cocoa and chocolate. From the Maya and Spanish conquistadores, to the times of contemporary chocolate connoisseurs. All presented chocolates are handmade.
Address:
Wijnzakstraat 2, 8000 Brugge Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10.00-18.00 Ticket prices: Adults-8 Euro |