Newly restored medieval oratory in Belgium opens to the public

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

After centuries of being hidden, the private oratory in the Jerusalem Chapel of the Adornes family in Bruges has opened to the public. The connecting gallery between the chapel and the family residence has also been fully restored.

Consecrated in 1429 and completed by Anselm Adornes (1412–1483) after his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the chapel was inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The oratory, a small octagonal prayer chamber with a decorated corridor, allowed the family to follow services discreetly.

The space is adorned with family symbols, including the cloud emblem, the Wheel of Saint Catherine, and the Jerusalem cross, with paintings dating from the 16th and 19th centuries. Restoration preserved authenticity, repaired structural elements, and restored stained-glass windows.

While visitors cannot enter the oratory due to its fragile condition, a glass partition now allows direct viewing. The restored gallery linking the chapel and residence is also accessible.

Source: https://www.codart.nl/museums/newly-restored-private-oratory-in-the-adornes-domain-opens-to-the-public/

Edited December 20, 2025 by FfFfFfFF

[timdrake 1,926]

idk why but it reminds me of very specific places in Hyrule Castle in Breath of the Wild

[dit 46,738]

Pretty and scary! Why don’t we build stuff like this anymore  

[garbage day 11,817]

10 minutes ago, dit said:

Pretty and scary! Why don’t we build stuff like this anymore  

Basically capitalism. They have to make places easier to build and sell to maximize profits.

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

26 minutes ago, dit said:

Pretty and scary!

Wholeheartedly agreed! I think underneath the scarry look of medieval constructions, there is lot of 'light' energy. I felt it first hand, as I visited Vienna last month and saw multiple Gothic churches there.  They are serious and grand, but carry a lot of beauty and delicacy, a lot of attention to details and even colors! (even though Gothic is mostly seen as grey in pop culture). 

Rudolph Otto said the sacred and sublime is linked not only to love, but to fear...  this is a paradoxical and contradictory idea, but I think this is the essence of Gothic.

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

32 minutes ago, vanna shintuyu said:

Basically capitalism. They have to make places easier to build and sell to maximize profits.

I would also add other factors that made society as a whole less concerned with beauty:

- the Protestant Reformation, which put into question the idea of beautfying the space, when the ''word'' of God is sufficient for salvation

- The World Wars that destroyed many historical buildings and rebuilding projects that turned to concerned with functionality more than aesthetics

- The spread of American functionalist aestethics after the 1990s (skyscrappers, clean glass designs etc).. world culture became Americanized and simplified.. In the past, each subarea in Europe had its own style, which started to show sublte changes even if you travelled some 40 kms to the east. Now cities, stores, parking lots look the same across continents.

Edited December 20, 2025 by FfFfFfFF

[zevthepaparazzo 2,429]

gagz needs to film a mv here

[4th Time Around 5,059]

Medieval architecture is incredible. I have been pretty obsessed with the time period for most of my life and it's so misrepresented in a lot popular media. Some people have this dark and gloomy Game of Thrones setting in mind but in reality medieval people loved bright colors and there were many important innovations. the "Dark Ages" is a myth cooked up by a bunch of assholes during the Renaissance who wanted to make it seem like all human progressive had stopped prior to the 1400s. 

Edited December 21, 2025 by 4th Time Around

[Economy 52,854]

14 hours ago, dit said:

Pretty and scary! Why don’t we build stuff like this anymore  

 

14 hours ago, vanna shintuyu said:

Basically capitalism. They have to make places easier to build and sell to maximize profits.

This. Costs more time and money so we just dont do it.

 

Money literally has to determine everything now. Art, the environment, the human side of things, your health (ex: growing food with every possible poisonois chemical there is then processing it some more) those things never matter anymore

 

Only friends and family can ever be relied on to do things with you or for you that isnt about money and even then theres ppl who fail at that and betray family and friends for money

 

Its disgusting

 

[Ack1234 524]

Gagas new stage ?

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

On 12/21/2025 at 4:12 AM, 4th Time Around said:

Medieval architecture is incredible. I have been pretty obsessed with the time period for most of my life and it's so misrepresented in a lot popular media. Some people have this dark and gloomy Game of Thrones setting in mind but in reality medieval people loved bright colors and there were many important innovations. the "Dark Ages" is a myth cooked up by a bunch of assholes during the Renaissance who wanted to make it seem like all human progressive had stopped prior to the 1400s. 

To add to this, the pop culture image of the Middle Ages glances over the continuity between the Late Medieval and Early Renaissance eras. There was not a sudden shift, but one led to and flowed into the other (while at the same time being distinct and having different characteristics, ofc).

For example, the Pieta, possibly the most famous artwork of the Renaissance, had its origins in medieval prototypes. It was never as naturalistic as in Michelango's version, but the precedents are there in medival devotional art.

Italy's Scrovegni Chapel, also defies a single categorization, it shows both Gothic and Renaissance features, and it basically represents the cusp between these art styles. Even though Renmaissance thinkers tried to discredit this lineage, in many ways Late Gothic morphed into and madde possible the Renaissance art.

Edited December 22, 2025 by FfFfFfFF

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

Calling in the GGD experts of art history: @Ayesha Erotica 

[4th Time Around 5,059]

1 hour ago, FfFfFfFF said:

To add to this, the pop culture image of the Middle Ages glances over the continuity between the Late Medieval and Early Renaissance eras. There was not a sudden shift, but one led to and flowed into the other (while at the same time being distinct and having different characteristics, ofc).

For example, the Pieta, possibly the most famous artwork of the Renaissance, had its origins in medieval prototypes. It was never as naturalistic as in Michelango's version, but the precedents are there in medival devotional art.

Italy's Scrovegni Chapel, also defies a single categorization, it shows both Gothic and Renaissance features, and it basically represents the cusp between these art styles. Even though Renmaissance thinkers tried to discredit this lineage, in many ways Late Gothic morphed into and madde possible the Renaissance art.

Kinda unrelated but I saw the Pieta in person a few years ago and wasn't ready for how breathtaking it is. Pictures don't do Michelangelo masterpieces justice. 

Edited December 22, 2025 by 4th Time Around

[Ayesha Erotica 1,924]

Bruges is a city very rich in history, was once a major city, and one of the most beautiful cities in BeNeLux.