The Basilica of the Holy Blood stands on Burg Square in Bruges. Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders, had it built as a private double chapel beside the counts' first residence. The infobox gives construction as 1134 to 1157, while the text dates the St. Basil chapel to 1134 to 1149. Tradition holds that Thierry returned with the relic on April 7, 1150. The article names no designer.
The lower chapel is a dark Romanesque structure, largely unchanged. The upper chapel was rebuilt in Gothic style, in the 16th century or at the end of the 15th, as the article says both. Renovations in the 19th century gave the upper chapel its Gothic Revival look. The reliquary shrine of 1617 uses about 66 pounds (30 kg) of gold and silver.
The article says there is no definitive evidence on the relic's authenticity. The relic is shown every Friday.
Comments