St. Salvator’s Cathedral

St. Salvator's Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

Saint Salvator's Cathedral stands on a square in the centre of Bruges, Belgium, a short walk from the Market Square and the Church of Our Lady, and entry to the cathedral is free, while the treasury museum has a small fee. It is the oldest parish church in Bruges and became a cathedral in the nineteenth century, after the original cathedral of Saint Donatian was destroyed during the French Revolution.

Walking tours of Bruges include the cathedral along with the Market Square, the Belfry, the Basilica of the Holy Blood, the Church of Our Lady and the canals. Canal boat tours pass nearby. The cathedral is less crowded than other sights in Bruges, and its treasury holds fine Flemish paintings. The cathedral is an active church, and visiting pauses during services. Organ concerts are held in summer. Tickets for the treasury are sold inside the cathedral near the entrance to the museum rooms.

Visiting St. Salvator's Cathedral: what to see

A church stood here from the tenth century, and the present Gothic building dates largely from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, built in brick in the Scheldt Gothic style, with a massive tower whose lower part is Romanesque and whose neo-Romanesque top was added in the nineteenth century. Inside, the cathedral has a spacious nave, a choir with carved stalls decorated with the coats of arms of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, who held a chapter meeting here in 1478, and tapestries made in Brussels showing the life of Christ. The rood screen supports a baroque organ and a statue of God the Father by Artus Quellinus. The treasury displays works by Flemish masters, including Dieric Bouts and Hugo van der Goes, liturgical objects and reliquaries.

The cathedral also holds medieval tombs with painted interiors, discovered during excavations. The tapestries in the choir, made by Jaspar van der Borcht in the eighteenth century, show scenes from the life of Christ. The treasury also displays the tomb of Saint Eligius and paintings by Pieter Pourbus. The pulpit is carved with figures and was made in the eighteenth century. The chapels around the ambulatory hold altars and tombs of bishops. The organ, with its rich case, dates from the eighteenth century. The medieval tombs found under the floor have painted interiors showing angels and crosses. The tower has a viewing platform that is occasionally open for guided climbs. Stained glass windows show the arms of guilds.

St. Salvator's Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral is open daily, with shorter hours on Sundays and closing during services; the treasury is closed on some days. Bruges is crowded with day visitors, especially in summer and at weekends, and early mornings and evenings are the best times to explore. The Procession of the Holy Blood on Ascension Day in May fills the streets. The Christmas market and ice rink draw visitors in December. Bruges is often rainy, so churches and museums make good indoor stops. Allow about half an hour for the cathedral and treasury, and walk along the canals to the Church of Our Lady. The Groeninge Museum, a few minutes' walk, holds masterpieces by Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling.