Wealthy people enjoy flaunting their expensive possessions. That’s how it is today and it was no different in 15th and 16th-century Bruges.

Society’s elite recite their prayers from illuminated books of hours, while they kneel on benches produced by the very best woodcarvers. They wear jewellery that they keep in specially made boxes. They sing songs together and listen to beautiful, polyphonic compositions. They decorate their homes with costly tapestries and artistically crafted furniture. They have their initials or coat of arms added to corbels (the ends of oak beams). And their children, well, they play with toy soldiers – just like children do today.

Welcome to the high society of 15th- and 16th-century Bruges! How did these extremely wealthy people actually live? What appealed to them? How did they look after themselves? What did they like to show off? You'll find out in this room. The double portrait shows two citizens of the Bruges elite. Filips Dominicle held several important official positions in the city. He was married to Barbara Ommejaeghere. In the background there's a traditional Bruges cityscape, of the kind we often see in portraits and religious paintings. Successful citizens liked to emulate successful Bruges...

Here you can see the ultimate in expensive interior showpieces that adorned many city palaces: a tapestry made from wool and silk. Flanders was known for its tapestries. They were frequently commissioned as a series. They were custom-made and often personalised, featuring the client's coat of arms. In the black border on the right in this tapestry you can see the Gothic B for Bruges, a weaver's spool and a monogram, which is a kind of signature, of the unknown weaver. As a result, we know the tapestry was produced in Bruges. What we are looking at is a battle scene from classical antiquity, with two horsemen as the main characters.

A tapestry like this provided cold walls with a sense of warmth and cosiness. The Dukes of Burgundy too lived, as it were, among their tapestries. They took them with them from city to city, and from palace to palace.

Faith determined everything in the lives of medieval people. From the cradle to the grave. Christian festivals divided up the year, and people practised their faith in church, on pilgrimages, during processions. Every day they prayed to God, Jesus, Mary and the many saints every day. Also privately. Everything you did and thought was dominated by life after death, when you would be punished or rewarded for your life here on earth.

The luxury objects you can see here, bear witness to that faith among the elite. These citizens used objects to deepen their prayers at home. Thus, the cross is the symbol of Christianity: Jesus Christ died on the cross to save mankind.

Those who could afford it also bought a painting or statue of, for example, Mary with the Child Jesus, or of the suffering Christ. It was easier to empathise if you had a visual representation. People also used a so-called book of hours, an example of which you can see here: it is a manuscript with the texts of prayers to be read and recited at specific times of day.

You respectfully knelt on a prayer or kneeling bench. This Bruges example features the names Jesus and Mary at the top.