SAINT-JEAN HOSPITAL (SINT-JANSHOSPITAAL)

St. John's Hospital is one of the oldest surviving medieval hospitals in Europe. It remained in use until 1976 and religious people treated pilgrims there. People come here mainly for the paintings of the painter Hans Memling, but a visit to an old hospital is not without interest. The interior architecture, with its bricks and beams, is impressive.

The museum. It restores the atmosphere of the rooms and the hospital life of the time. One can see, among other things, books, registers, letters and seals, medical instruments, crockery, a nun's habit... It is in the hospital chapel that the great talent of Hans Memling, the most famous painter of Gothic Christendom, was illustrated. He was born around 1435 in Seligenstadt, Hesse, settled in Bruges from 1465 and died in Flanders in 1494. His masterpieces, created in the 15th century for the institution, such as the famous Châsse de sainte Ursule, are exhibited here. Heir to Van der Weyden and precursor to Bruegel, Memling is recognized as a master of portraiture. He produced dazzling Virgins with Child.

The botanical garden of medicinal plants and the old pharmacy of the 18th century are also worth a visit. The renovated 19th century buildings are now occupied by the Oud Sint-Jan Center, which organizes exhibitions and conferences. A visit to the attic also allows you to admire the roof structure, one of the most monumental and oldest in Europe.