Most notable is Michelangelo's Virgin and Child sculpture, possibly the most celebrated piece by Michelangelo outside of Italy. It dates from 1501. Also worth seeing are the pulpit with cherubs hanging off the sides, and the Manger Scene carved into a tree trunk.

For Da Vinci Code readers, you might note that the marble Last Supper in front of Michelangelo's sculpture clearly shows Christ at the center, six on each side. Eleven are clearly men with beards and one is clearly a woman, at Christ's side. One man holds a dagger or sharp blade. No chalice is present. Hmmm...

It’s the interior of the church that really attracts the crowds, though. In a small chapel on the right hand side of the church Michelangelo’s sculpture of the Madonna and Child--originally sculped for Siena Cathedral and the only one of his works to leave Italy during his lifetime--is a wonder in white marble, the innocent child poised at the feet of his seemingly troubled mother, shoulders twisting one way and eyes another, peering down through a screen of bullet proof glass set between six circular columns that arc towards two statues that flank an oversized altar. Nearby are the intricately carved 16th century tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy, whose bronze hand reaches imploringly towards the heavens while her feet push out towards her copper gilt pet dogs. Also look out for van Dyck's evocative 'Christ on the Cross' painting and a funerary chapel adorned with frescoed tombs in maroon and black.

Entrance to the church, which is open daily with the exception of Mondays, is two Euros fifty.

The church's medieval character and its important works of art attract many visitors. Among these are the Madonna by Michelangelo and the magnificent tombstones of Mary of Burgundy and her father Charles the Bold.

Architecturally, the outside is a slightly forbidding hodgepodge of different styles. Already two centuries old when first mentioned in written records in 1089, overtime extensions and renovations have changed the character of the building. Each period has its concept of good architecture and the importance of preserving previous designs. The 18th century saw transformation into the period style, but around 1900 renovators tried to revert to the original medieval design. Today's architecture varies from late Romanesque over Scheldt-Gothic to French Gothic.

The most important and eye-catching part of the church is the tower. Building the tower started in the mid-13th century. Reaching a height of 122 meters, only the cathedral of Antwerp is higher--by one metre. The enormous mass of bricks speaks of permanence.

In the sacrament chapel in the right wing of the church stands the famed Madonna by Michelangelo. This stunning marble sculpture is the only sculpture by the great Italian artist present in the Low Countries. Made for the cathedral of Sienna (it couldn't afford to pay for it), two merchants from Bruges (Jan and Alexander Moscroen) brought it to Bruges after a business trip to Italy in 1506.

There are outstanding paintings by Pieter Poubus (Last Supper and Adoration of the Shepherds) and Gerard David (Transfigeration) but after the Michelangelo it is the choir area that holds most interest.

In the choir of the church, are the magnificent tombstones of Mary of Burgundy and her father Charles the Bold. Duchess Mary reigned over the Low Countries in the last part of the 15th century and died in Bruges in 1482 at 25 years old, after falling from her horse during a hunting trip in the surroundings of Bruges.

Charles the Bold died in 1477 in Nancy, France, during a battle. Brought back to Bruges in 1550, his remains lie next to those of his daughter. Mary's sarcophagus, made from black marble surmounting by a reclining image of her in bronze is an example of late gothic style. Charles tomb also has a reclining image of the diseased in bronze. Only completed in the mid-16th century it has the later early renaissance style. In front of both tombs is a triptych by Barend van Orley.

Elsewhere you'll find the funerary chapel of Pieter Lanchals containing frescoed tombs in maroon and black as well as Van Dyck's starkly atmospheric painting of Christ on the cross.