Sint-Annakerk (St Anne's Church)
St Anne's Church is a Roman Catholic Gothic hall church built in the early 17th century. Its exterior is austere but it surprises visitors with its rich baroque interior. Mother Anne is the patron saint of the church.
A little history:
At the end of the 15th century, the mansion "Hof ter Vere" was converted into a single-nave auxiliary church, to which two naves were added in 1516. After the iconoclasm, the church was sold and partially demolished. In 1611 a new church was built, which, due to scarcity of materials, was single-aisled. Donations from wealthy Bruges residents enabled the church to afford the rich interior of the current 17th-century hall church, which was given the nickname the “drawing room church of Bruges”.
Visitors can admire the bench where the poor from the neighbourhood could receive goods or tokens on certain days; the marble rood loft, the oak panelling with built-in confessionals, paintings by Jan Garemijn and the shell-shaped baptismal font above which the poet Guido Gezelle himself was baptised. Also hanging here is The Last Judgment by Hendrik Herregouts, which, at 100 square metres in size, is the largest painting in Bruges.
Today, St Anne's Church is still in use as a parish church. Click here for the most up-to-date information about religious services.
