The St. Donatian's Cathedral was a Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 in Bruges

Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. Located on the Burg, one of the main squares in the city, it was the largest church in Bruges. The cathedral was destroyed in 1799 in the wake of the dissolution of the Diocese of Bruges during the aftermath of the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

.

History

St Donatian's Church (Dutch: Sint-Donaaskerk) was built by Arnulf I, Count of Flanders

Arnulf I, Count of Flanders

Arnulf of Flanders , called the Great, was the third Count of Flanders, who ruled the County of Flanders, an area that is now northwestern Belgium and southwestern Holland....

, c. 950 AD, in order to house the relics of Saint Donatian

Saint Donatian

Saint Donatian is the patron saint of Bruges, Belgium, where his relics were enshrined in the ninth century. He was the bishop of Reims from 360 until his death in 390. His feast day is celebrated on October 14....

 that had been brought to Bruges in c. 870 AD by monks from Torhout

Torhout

Torhout is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Torhout proper. On January 1, 2008 Torhout had a total population of 19,755...

. The church was built in the Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 architectural style. There was an octagonal main building, with a tower and a sixteen-sided ambulatory

Ambulatory

The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....

. The building stood on the Burg square, across from the Stadhuis (city hall). St Donatian's Church became a cathedral following the installation of the first Bishop of Bruges in 1562. The Bishopric of Bruges

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brugge

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges, is a diocese of the Roman Catholic church in Belgium. The diocese was restored after the French Revolution in 1834. Its territory coincides with West Flanders. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels...

 was created in 1559 (McDonald, p.15, 26), but the position was not filled until 1562 (McDonald, p.26). St. Donatian's was destroyed in 1799 by occupying forces of the French First Republic

French First Republic

The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...

. The former site of St Donatian's is now occupied by the Crowne Plaza Brugge Hotel

Crowne Plaza

Crowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...

; the foundations of the cathedral were uncovered in 1955 and are visible in the hotel's cellars.

• On 2 March 1127, Charles the Good, Count of Flanders
  Charles I, Count of Flanders
  Blessed Charles the Good was Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127. He is most remembered for his murder and its aftermath.-History:...
  
   was assassinated in St Donatian's.
• Jan van Eyck
  Jan van Eyck
  Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
  
  's painting Madonna and Child with Canon Joris van der Paele (1436), which also depicts St Donatian, was commissioned by Canon van der Paele as an altarpiece for the church. The painting is now housed in the Groeningemuseum
  Groeningemuseum
  The Groeningemuseum is a municipal museum of Bruges, Belgium.It houses a comprehensive survey of six centuries of Flemish and Belgian painting, from Jan van Eyck to Marcel Broodthaers...
  
  in Bruges (Dunford and Lee, p.177; McDonald, p.97-98). Jan van Eyck himself was buried in St Donatian's Church in 1441.

Sources

• Davis, R.H.C. (1990). King Stephen, Third Edition. London and New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-04000-0
• Dunford, M. and Lee, P. (2002). The Rough Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg, Third Edition. London and New York: Rough Guides Ltd. ISBN 1-85828-871-1
• McDonald, G. (2002). Insight Compact Guide: Bruges, Second Edition. Singapore: APA Publications. ISBN 981-234-705-4