Bruges No. 7 / Brugge

The entry for this church in the Emmaus Parochie site [https://emmausparochie.be/emmausparochie/geschiedenis-van-de-parochie-sint-baafs-en-haar-kerk/] [accessed 18 December 2022] gives information about the medieval church of St Bavo here, and reports a naptismal font made ca. 1290 by Joris Peckelnij [English excerpt by Pol Herman e-mailed to BSI]: An exact date of the origin of the Sint-Baafs parish is not known. The parish probably originated in the early 13th century from the parish of Sint-Salvators, which became too large due to the growth of the city of Bruges. We know with certainty that Danneel was pastor there around 1239. The will of Geerwijn Weerdts from 1250 mentions the parish “Sincte Baves buten Brugghe”. Presumably the former church was located at the intersection of Sint-Baafsstraat, Diksmuidse Heerweg and Hertogenstraat. This square is still popularly referred to as Sint-Baafspleintje. Already in 1290 a church was mentioned. In that year, Joris Peckelnij built a baptismal font there. In 1505 two bells are placed in the tower. In 1577, all buildings that were located within the pale (the part outside the walls of the city of Bruges, but still belonging to it) were demolished to prevent Protestant troops from besieging the city. In April 1610, the inhabitants of the parish received permission from their bishop to rebuild the church. However, the parish did not have the necessary funds, partly because the parishioners had taken up residence within the walls of the town, which offered more protection. The parish continued to exist in name until 1647 and had a pastor. In that year it was abolished. The same information is also available in the archived site for the Parochie Sint-Baafs [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104217/http://www.sint-baafs.be/site/node/113] [accessed 18 December 2022]. The baptismal font in use is a modern one; it consists of a blue round basin surrounded with white cherubs, on a round pedestal base of dark marble, the lower base decorated with a chaged shield; the font cover is roumnd, 2/3 of a sphere, painted in blue and decorated with a large serpent that points to a finial of a Latin cross on a base of clouds; this font is located in a chapel at the west end of the north aisle. [NB: are there any PHOTOS IN THE 2016 TRIP LUMIX SET?]