Basilica of the Holy Blood

Basilica of the Holy Blood

The Basilica of the Holy Blood is a basilica in Bruges, Belgium. Originally built in the 12th Century as a chapel, it was promoted to basilica in 1923. While the base of the basilica is Romanesque, its upper floor is Gothic in construction.

The basilica is best known as the repository of a sacred vial said to contain a cloth with blood of Jesus Christ, brought to the city by Crusaders in the 12th or 13th Century. Popular legend asserts that the vial was taken to Bruges during the Second Crusade of CE 1147-1149, but more recent research indicates that the vial probably arrived in Bruges in around 1250 from Constantinople, after that city had been sacked by the army of the Count of Flanders, Baldwin IX during the Fourth Crusade.

The vial is at the center of a well-known annual festival, the "Procession of the Holy Blood". On Ascension Day, residents of the area perform an historical reenactment of the vial's arrival along with enacting other Biblical events.

ource

* [http://www.trabel.com/brugge/bruges-holyblood.htm BRUGES : The Chapel of the Holy Blood] at trabel.com
* [http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bruges/A6338.html Heilig-Bloedbasiliek] at Frommers


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