St. Salvator's Cathedral

[1] St. Salvator, the main church of the city, is one of the few buildings in Bruges that have survived the onslaught of the ages without damage.

In 1116, a new fire destroyed the building, and in 1127, the construction of a new larger church began in Romanesque style.

[2] In 1834, shortly after Belgium's independence in 1830, a new bishop was installed in Bruges and St. Salvator's Church obtained the status of cathedral.

At the same time, he was commissioned a project for a higher tower, in order to make it taller than that of Church of Our Lady.

After completion there was a lot of criticism, and the Royal Commission for Monuments (Koninklijke Commissie voor Monumenten), without Chantrell's authorization, placed a small peak on top of the tower, because the original design was deemed too flat.

The organ of the cathedral was originally built by Jacobus Van Eynde (1717–1719) and was expanded and rebuilt three times in the 20th century: in 1902 by L. B. Hooghuys, in 1935 by Klais Orgelbau and in 1988 by Frans Loncke & zonen.