--- title: "Charles the Bold and medieval Bruges | Karel de Stoute" url: https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/charles-the-bold description: "Charles the Bold, his 1468 wedding in Bruges, Mary of Burgundy, the rise and fall of the trading city, and where to see his traces today." lang: en --- Image: The gilt-bronze tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold in the choir of the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, in front of the altar (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/assets/guide-charles-the-bold-hero-D_hUKKqq.webp) Burgundian history # Charles the Bold and Burgundian Bruges: the duke, the wedding of 1468 and our house Tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold, Church of Our Lady, Bruges. Photo: Rainer Halama, CC0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Br%C3%BCgge-Liebfrauenkirche-Prunkgr%C3%A4ber_DSC0179.jpg Charles the Bold (1433-1477) was the last Duke of Burgundy of his line and the ruler of lands that stretched from the North Sea to Burgundy. Bruges was one of its richest cities and a favourite residence of the court. He married Margaret of York here in 1468, his tomb monument stands in the Church of Our Lady, and our hotel stands in the house built for him as a young prince, inside the grounds of the ducal palace. Staying in Bruges? Our nine rooms are a short walk from here. See the rooms (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/rooms) ## Who was Charles the Bold? He was born in Dijon on 10 November 1433, the son of Duke Philip the Good. As heir he carried the title Count of Charolais, and he became Duke of Burgundy on 15 June 1467. Through his father's lands he ruled most of the Low Countries, Flanders and Bruges included. His nickname depends on the language. In Dutch he is Karel de Stoute, in French Charles le Téméraire: the reckless, the rash. He spent his reign at war, trying to join his lands into one kingdom, and was killed at the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477. His body was found two days later, frozen in the ice. ## Our house: the Hôtel Charolais Hotel Karel de Stoute stands at Moerstraat 23. The Flemish heritage register describes the house as the so-called "Hôtel Charolais", built in the second half of the 15th century for the young Charles the Bold, within the domain of the Prinsenhof, the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy in Bruges. A city map of 1641 labels it "Aula Princips Carolus": the hall of Prince Charles. The street front dates from 1849 and replaced two gables. The cellars still have their groin-vaulted ceilings, and the house keeps oak beams with carved beam ends. Protected monument since 26 April 2002. A hotel since its restoration in 1986 and 1987. ## The Prinsenhof, the ducal palace The Prinsenhof was the residence of the Dukes of Burgundy in Bruges. In the 15th century it was a private palace with a castle tower, a chapel, a court for the ball game, an orchard, a bath house, gardens and even a zoo, and its grounds reached all the way to our street. Philip the Good founded the Order of the Golden Fleece in Bruges in 1430, at the celebration of his own wedding. After the Burgundian age the palace was sold and largely demolished in the 17th century. What stands today is mostly a 19th-century rebuilding, now a hotel. 1468 Wedding to Margaret of York ## The wedding of 1468 On 3 July 1468 Charles married Margaret of York, the sister of King Edward IV of England. The vows were exchanged early in the morning in the house of a merchant in Damme, and the bride and groom then entered Bruges separately for the celebrations. These included the Tournament of the Golden Tree, where the shields of the knights were hung on a golden artificial tree; the Bruges nobleman Anselm Adornes helped to organise it. That year, on 2 May, Charles also held a chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece in the Church of Our Lady. Bruges still remembers the wedding in the Pageant of the Golden Tree, a historical procession held every few years. ## Mary of Burgundy Charles's only child, Mary, was born in Brussels in 1457. At his death she inherited his lands, and in 1477 she married Maximilian of Austria. On a hunt near Wijnendale in March 1482 she fell from her horse; she died of her injuries on 27 March 1482, aged 25. A plaque at the Prinsenhof says she died there. She was buried in the Church of Our Lady, where her gilt-bronze tomb stands next to her father's. Her death led to years of conflict. In 1488 the people of Bruges held Maximilian prisoner for several weeks in the Craenenburg, a house on the Markt. ## Bruges, the trading city In the Burgundian age Bruges was one of the great markets of Europe. Ships reached the city through the Zwin, an arm of the sea; Italian merchants from Genoa, Florence and Venice kept houses here, and the German Hanse had its trading post in the city. Merchants met on a small square in front of the inn of the Van der Beurze family, which was already running in 1285. Their name gave the word "bourse", for a stock exchange, to many languages. The square is still called the Oude Beursplein. The decline came slowly. From around 1500 the Zwin silted up, ships could no longer reach the city, and the trade, the merchants and in the end the exchange moved to Antwerp. Bruges grew quiet, which is why so much of the medieval city survives. ## Where to see his traces today ### The tombs Charles's tomb monument and Mary's tomb in the choir of the Church of Our Lady, about 10 minutes on foot from the hotel. ### The Gruuthuse Museum the palace of Louis of Gruuthuse, a nobleman of the Burgundian court, with his private oratory looking into the Church of Our Lady. ### The Markt the Craenenburg, where Maximilian was held in 1488, and the Historium, which tells a story set in 15th-century Bruges. ### The Oude Beursplein the square that gave its name to the stock exchange. ### The Prinsenhof around the corner from our house, where the court lived. ### Our house the Hôtel Charolais itself, at Moerstraat 23. ## Frequently asked questions Who was Charles the Bold? The Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477, the son of Philip the Good and the father of Mary of Burgundy. He ruled most of the Low Countries, Bruges included, and was killed at the Battle of Nancy. Why is he called "the Bold"? In French he is "le Téméraire", which means rash or reckless. In Dutch he is Karel de Stoute, the name our hotel carries. Where is Charles the Bold buried? His tomb monument stands in the choir of the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, next to Mary of Burgundy's. His remains were moved there from Nancy in the 16th century, but whether they are really his is debated. Did Charles the Bold marry in Bruges? He married Margaret of York on 3 July 1468. The vows were exchanged in Damme, near Bruges, and the celebrations, with the Tournament of the Golden Tree, took place in Bruges. Is Hotel Karel de Stoute really linked to Charles the Bold? Yes. The Flemish heritage register describes the house as built in the second half of the 15th century for the young Charles the Bold, within the grounds of the Prinsenhof. It has been a protected monument since 2002. Why did Bruges lose its trade? From around 1500 the Zwin, its way to the sea, silted up, and trade moved to Antwerp. ## More guides All guides (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges#guides) - Sights ### Church of Our Lady and Michelangelo Michelangelo's Madonna and the tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold. Read the guide https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/church-of-our-lady - Museums ### Gruuthuse Museum The palace of Louis of Gruuthuse: 500 years of Bruges in tapestries, lace and stained glass. Read the guide https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/gruuthuse-museum - Sights ### Historium Bruges: is it worth it, and how long does it take? Film and sets tell a story set in 15th-century Bruges, on the Markt. Allow about an hour. Read the guide https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/bruges/historium Image: Horse carriages waiting on the Markt in front of the stepped gable houses (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/assets/explore-close-markt-carriages-DvfjOgsq.webp) ## Stay in a house built for Charles the Bold Moerstraat 23, five minutes from the Markt. Book here for €10 less than on Booking.com. Check Availability (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/booking) We use cookies to analyse traffic and improve your experience. Choose whether to accept them — read our cookie policy (https://www.chocolatehotel.be/en/cookies). 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