Sint-Jakobskerk (St James's Church)
St James's Church is dedicated to the saint of the same name. In fact, this house of worship is located along the Via Brugensis, a medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. A bronze scallop shell adorns the door. Throughout the city centre – including near St Saviour's Cathedral – some 40 scallop shells are incorporated into the pavement of Bruges.
The original chapel was elevated to a parish church in the 13th century. In the 15th century, the house of worship expanded and took on its present form, that of a brick-built hall church with a robust intersecting tower.
A remarkable number of wealthy people lived in and around the parish of St James's church and over time, their generous donations enriched the church. For example, Dukes Philip the Good and Charles the Bold regularly resided in the nearby Prinsenhof (Princes' Court), and the city's Mayor Willem Moreel and some important courtiers such as Ferry de Gros, Pieter Bladelin and the Italian bankers Arnolfini and Tommaso Portinari, also lived close by.
St James' Church possesses numerous art treasures received from wealthy guilds and patricians in the district. One of those is the burial chapel with the mausoleum of Ferry de Gros, the treasurer of the Order of the Golden Fleece, who actually allowed himself to be portrayed with two women. Zeger van Male's copper tombstone is also a fine example of the funerary art that is a significant presence here. In turn, a tondo by Luca della Robbia reflects the influence of the Italian nation in the late Middle Ages. Let's not lose sight of painting either: the Legend of Saint Lucy, by the Master of the Legend of Lucy (1480), is a true masterpiece. Before it was granted its permanent place in the Groeningemuseum (Groeninge Museum), Hans Memling's Moreel Triptych also hung here. Much of the furniture and church treasures were lost when the Beggars thoroughly destroyed the church in 1580.
