Basilica of the Holy Blood

The Basilica of the Holy Blood, on the Burg, is actually two churches stacked on top of each other. The lower Romanesque chapel of Saint Basil dates from the 12th century and is one of the most complete Romanesque interiors in Belgium — dim, low-vaulted, and austere. The upper Gothic chapel above it was built to house the relic of the Holy Blood and is altogether more ornate, with gilded woodwork and stained glass.

The relic itself — a phial said to contain Christ's blood, brought to Bruges by Thierry of Alsace after the Second Crusade — is displayed in a later 16th-century reliquary studded with gold and jewels. Entry to the basilica is free; the reliquary and treasury cost a small fee to view.

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The relic of the Holy Blood — a vial said to contain a cloth stained with Christ's blood, brought back from the Crusades in 1150 — is displayed in the upper chapel every Friday morning for veneration. Once a year at the Procession of the Holy Blood, the relic is carried through the streets in a jewelled reliquary as part of a pageant that has taken place every year since the 13th century. The procession was inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2009.