Bruges - Heilig-Bloedbasiliek

In 1134 Diederik van de Elzas (= Thierry d'Alsace"), Count of Flanders, commissioned to erect a chapel next to the his residence "Oud Steen" (now the town hall of Bruges). This Romanesque chapel, dedicated to Saint Basil the Great, one of the Cappadocian Fathers, is seen here. The basilica consisted of a lower and upper chapel, as a second chapel was erected on this one.

Diederik joined the Second Crusade in 1147 and - according to the tradition - returned to Bruges with the relic of the "Holy Blood", allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea.

So during the first half of the 13th century, the name of the upper chapel was changed to the Chapel of the Holy Blood.