In 1134, Thierry of Alsace decided to build a private double chapel next to the Oud Steen, the first residence of the Counts of Flanders, transformed today into the town hall of Bruges.

Basil the Great of whom a relic was brought back by Count Robert II from Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).

Carried each year during the procession, two venerated wooden statues, made around 1900 and representing Jesus on the Cold Stone and the Pieta are displayed.

The monumental staircase, commonly named De Steegheere, which leads to the upper chapel, was built in from 1529 to 1533 in late Gothic and Renaissance style according to the drawings of Flemish painter and architect William Aerts,[2][3] ornamented on the outside with sculpted statues.

The aftermath of the French Revolution left the staircase badly damaged and it was decided in 1832 to move it 4 metres (13 ft) backwards and to rebuild it after removing the remaining ruins of the Oud Steen.

The stained-glass windows in the choir date from 1845[5] and represent the sovereigns who reigned over the County of Flanders from Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, till Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, Holy Roman empress.

The following architects and artists took part in these neo-Gothic renovations of the Chapel of the Holy Blood:[2] The pulpit in the form of a globe was made in 1728 by Henry Pulinckx, inspired by its evangelical purpose : "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" Mark 16:15.

Typical attributes of a basilica, the tintinnabulum, the small processional bell, and the Umbraculum, the sunscreen in the form of a parasol in yellow and red silk, are displayed next to the high altar.

The basilica is best known as the repository of a venerated phial said to contain a cloth with blood of Jesus Christ, brought to the city by Thierry of Alsace after the 12th century Second Crusade.

[10] Pope Clement V issued a papal bull in 1310 granting indulgences to pilgrims who visited the chapel to view the relic; the blood was supposed to liquefy weekly at noon on Fridays; the miracle apparently ceased the same year, though a recurrence was alleged in 1388.

It consists of a gem-encrusted hexagonal case topped by golden statues representing Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Donatian and St.