Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, Bruges: Overall view of facade

The Church of St. Madeleine was built between 1850 and 1853, designed by Pierre Buyck, a local architect. In 1842 Buyck went back into government service as provincial architect for the district of Bruges; he built numerous churches, presbyteries, town halls, schools and hospitals in the north of West Flanders. His role in the rise of the archaeological Gothic Revival style, of which Bruges became the centre, is especially interesting. As early as 1844 he collaborated with R. D. Chantrell (1793-1872), the English architect, on the Romanesque Revival spire of St Salvator Cathedral in Bruges. In 1850 his plans for the Magdalenakerk were fiercely criticized by Thomas Harper King, who substantially influenced their eventual execution. Buyck planned a comprehensive space with the interior furnishings in the same Gothic Revival style. The interior was completed 1910. The church was funded by Antoine Verbeke and built south of the former convent of the Friars Minor. It now functions as a non-denominational chapel.