Sint-Salvatorskathedraal (Saint Saviour's Cathedral)
Saint Saviour's Cathedral is the current episcopal church of the bishopric of Bruges. From 1559 to 1795, which marked the end of the Ancien Régime, the bishop's seat was in St Donatian's Cathedral, which, however, was demolished at the end of the 18th century. Given that Saint Saviour's is the city's oldest parish church, it received cathedral status when the bishopric of Bruges was reconstituted in 1834.
The exterior of the cathedral, with its heavy brick masonry, is reminiscent of a fortified castle. The lower tower, partly built of fieldstone, dates from the 11th century. However, the robust, neo-Romanesque style of the upper section of the tower was built in the 19th century.
The cathedral itself houses a wealth of heritage in the field of religious art. Once the country was no longer under French rule, many art treasures from demolished churches, monasteries and convents ended up in Saint Saviours. The cathedral is renowned for its late-baroque, Brussels tapestries on the life of Christ. The bishops' tombs, the neo-Gothic stained glass windows and the unique, late Gothic choir stalls are also of value as historical works of art. Amongst other things, the Treasury houses the Hippolytus Triptych by the Flemish primitives Dirk Bouts and Hugo van der Goes.
