Saint Jans Hospital (Memling Museum)

Around the middle of the 12th century, the "Oud Sint-Janshospitaal" was founded on today's Mariastraat as a hospital primarily for sick pilgrims and travelers. In the course of the centuries the building was extended more and more, in the 19th century the structure comprised eight houses around a central building. Sick people were cared for here until 1977, after which the city took over the facility.

Memling Museum

You can find the Memling Museum in the old hospital chapel. In the 15th century Bruges had an enormous importance as a trade center. Master Hans Memling, together with Jan von Eyck, contributed considerably to Bruges' complementary reputation as a cultural center during this period. Of course, these two developments are closely linked, because the money brought to the city mainly by the cloth trade allowed the old masters to develop freely. Thus, Hans Memling financed his standard of living partly through commissioned portraits of wealthy Bruges citizens, but also devoted himself to religious motifs.

In the Memling Museum you can admire the most important works of the native of Seligenstadt, who was strongly influenced by the Flemish Primitives. These include triptychs of St. John the Baptist, Jan Flreins, and Adriaan Reins, as well as the famous Ursula Shrine, one of Memling's most important masterpieces.

St. Jan's Hospital (Sint-Jansspital)

The historic Saint Jansspital was endowed in the 12th century and still used as a hospital until 1978. It is considered the first public hospital of modern times. In keeping with the decoration of the building's pediment with depictions of the Virgin Mary, the entrance is on Mariastraat. Today, you will find in the ornate walls in the direct vicinity of the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), among other things, a presentation of the medical past of the house. Instruments, archives, sickrooms, the hospital pharmacy and the former dormitory are on display.