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 and is the sixth most populous city in Belgium. The main language spoken is Dutch, specifically the West Flemish dialect.

The city covers an area of over 14,099 hectares, including 1,075 hectares of coastal land at Zeebrugge, which means "Bruges by the Sea." The historic city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its cultural and historical value. This area is oval-shaped and covers about 430 hectares. As of January 1, 2008, the city had a population of 117,073. The larger area, including nearby regions where people live and work, spans 616 square kilometers and had 255,844 people as of January 1, 2008.

Bruges is sometimes called the "Venice of the North" because of its canals, similar to cities like Amsterdam and Saint Petersburg in Europe. The city has been economically important due to its port, which once made it one of the world's leading trade centers. Today, Bruges is a major tourist destination in Belgium and is also known as the home of the College of Europe, an educational institution focused on European studies.

Etymology

The earliest known use of the location's name was "Brugis" in the Breviarium de thesauro Sancti Bavaris, a list of items from Saint Bavo's Abbey written between 851 and 864 AD. The name "Bruggas," "Bruccas," "Briuccas," or "Briuggas" appeared on coins made between 864 and 875 AD. This name is similar to the Old Dutch word for "bridge," brugga, and the Middle Dutch brucge or brugge, as well as the modern Dutch brug ("bridge"). However, it is more likely from the Scandinavian word Bryggja, meaning "quay" or "jetty."

Later records show the name changed over time. It appeared as "Bruciam" and "Bruociam" in 892; as "Brutgis uico" in the late ninth century; as "in portu Bruggensi" around 1010; as "Bruggis" in 1012; as "Bricge" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1037; as "Brugensis" in 1046; as "Brycge" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle between 1049 and 1052; as "Brugias" in 1072; as "Bruges" between 1080 and 1085; as "Bruggas" around 1084; as "Brugis" in 1089; and as "Brugge" in 1116.

History

Bruges was a place where people lived near the coast during ancient times. The settlements from the Bronze Age and Iron Age were not connected to the development of the medieval city. In the Bruges area, the first walls were built after Julius Caesar conquered the Menapii in the first century BC. These walls protected the coast from pirates. The Franks took control of the region from the Gallo-Romans around the fourth century and called it the Pagus Flandrensis. Viking attacks in the ninth century made Count Baldwin I of Flanders strengthen the old Roman walls. While Viking raids caused other cities like Dorestad, Quentovic, and Domburg to lose their importance as trade centers, Bruges grew in significance. Early medieval people began living in Bruges on the Burgh terrain around the ninth and tenth centuries, likely in a protected area with a church. Bruges became a popular place for pilgrimages after the relics of Saint Donatian of Reims were brought to the town and honored in St. Donatian's church. Saint Donatian became Bruges' patron saint.

In 1089, Bruges became the capital of the County of Flanders. The city received its official charter on 27 July 1128, and new walls and canals were built. By the 12th century, Bruges had its own independent government. The Zwin, a tidal inlet near Bruges, was important for trade. Starting around 1050, the area around Bruges slowly filled with sand, making it harder to reach the sea. However, a storm in 1134 created a natural channel at the Zwin, reconnecting Bruges to the sea. This new waterway led to the city of Damme, which became a trade hub for Bruges.

Bruges was in a good place where trade routes from the north and south met. The city was part of the Flemish and French cloth fairs in the 13th century. When these fairs ended, Bruges' merchants created new ways of doing business, such as sharing risks and profits, and using tools like bills of exchange and letters of credit. The city welcomed foreign traders, including Portuguese merchants who sold spices.

As town life grew in the 12th century, Bruges developed a wool market, a weaving industry, and a cloth market. These businesses thrived behind the city walls, where goods could be stored safely under the protection of the counts of Flanders. Bruges' merchants expanded their influence to England and Scotland, bringing in grain and wine. Hanseatic ships filled the harbor, which needed to be expanded to Sluys to fit larger ships.

In 1277, the first merchant ships from Genoa arrived in Bruges, starting a trade connection with the Mediterranean. This brought spices from the Levant and new financial practices to Bruges. A building where Genoese traders once worked still stands today as the Frietmuseum.

The Bourse, which opened in 1309, is believed to be the first stock exchange in the world. It became a major financial center in the Low Countries. By 1314, Venetian ships arrived in Bruges, but they were latecomers. Merchants from Castile and later the Basques, who came from Bilbao, played important roles in trade. These groups lived in separate communities with their own rules until economic problems in the 1700s.

Bruges' wealth led to social conflicts, which were often stopped by the city's militia. In 1302, the Bruges Matins, a nighttime attack on French soldiers by the local militia, led to a victory against the French at the Battle of the Golden Spurs near Kortrijk. Statues of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, leaders of the uprising, still stand in the city's main square. The militia remained a permanent force, linked to a guild of organized soldiers who bought and maintained their own weapons. Later, Bruges was involved in revolts in the County of Flanders between 1323 and 1328.

Bruges' weavers and spinners were known worldwide, and the city had at least 46,000 people by 1350. At the end of the 14th century, Bruges became one of the Four Members, along with Brugse Vrije, Ghent, and Ypres. These cities formed a parliament but often argued with each other.

In the 15th century, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, set up a court in Bruges, along with Brussels and Lille, attracting artists and bankers from Europe. The new oil-painting techniques of the Flemish school became famous worldwide. The first English book ever printed was made in Bruges by William Caxton. At this time, Edward IV and Richard III of England lived in exile in Bruges.

Around 1500, the Zwin channel, which had helped Bruges grow, began to fill with sand, ending the city's golden age. Bruges fell behind Antwerp as the economic leader of the Low Countries. In the 17th century, the lace industry started, and efforts were made to revive Bruges' past. During the 1650s, Charles II of England and his court lived in Bruges. The city's ports were modernized, but Antwerp remained more important. Bruges became poorer and less influential.

In the late 1800s, Bruges became a popular tourist destination for wealthy British and French visitors. By 1909, a group called "Bruges Forward: Society to Improve Tourist" was formed to promote tourism.

The symbolist writer George Rodenbach wrote a novel called Bruges-la-Morte, meaning "Bruges-the-dead," which was later turned into an opera called Die tote Stadt (The Dead City).

During World War I, German forces occupied Bruges but caused little damage. The city was liberated by Allied forces on 19 October 1918. In World War II, Bruges was again occupied by Germany but avoided destruction. It was freed on 12 September 1944 by Canadian troops from the 12th Manitoba Dragoons. The city's liberation was helped by a bridge now called the Canada Bridge, which connects the city center to surrounding areas.

After 1965, Bruges' medieval city was restored, leading to a revival of interest in its history. Restorations of homes, shops, monuments, and churches brought more tourists to the city.

Geography

The city of Bruges includes the following parts:

• The historic city centre of Bruges, Sint-Jozef, and Sint-Pieters (I)
• Koolkerke (II)
• Sint-Andries (III)
• Sint-Michiels (IV)
• Assebroek (V)
• Sint-Kruis (VI)
• Dudzele (VII)
• Lissewege (with Zeebrugge and Zwankendamme) (VIII)

Bruges has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).

Landmarks, arts, and culture

The medieval architecture in Bruges is mostly well-preserved, making it one of the best-kept medieval towns in Europe. The "Historic Centre of Bruges" has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Its medieval buildings include the Church of Our Lady, whose brick spire is 115.6 meters (379.27 feet) tall, making it the world's second-highest brick tower. A sculpture called Madonna and Child, located in the transept, is believed to be the only one of Michelangelo's sculptures that left Italy during his lifetime.

Bruges' most famous landmark is the Belfry of Bruges, a 13th-century tower that holds a set of 47 bells called a carillon. The Belfry is part of a separate UNESCO World Heritage Site called the "Belfries of Belgium and France." A person called a carillonneur, who plays the bells, still works in the city and gives free concerts.

In addition to the "Historic Centre of Bruges" and the Belfry, Bruges is also home to a third UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Ten Wijngaerde Beguinage. This is a type of religious community for women, built in the 13th century, and is part of the "Flemish Beguinages" UNESCO site.

Bruges is known for its lace, a type of fabric. The city and its lace inspired a film series called "Thread Routes," with one episode filmed in Bruges in 2011.

Several beers are named after Bruges, such as Brugge Blond, Brugge Tripel, Brugs, Brugse Babbelaar, Brugse Straffe Hendrik, and Brugse Zot. Only Brugse Zot and Brugse Straffe Hendrik are brewed in the city at the De Halve Maan Brewery.

Bruges has many museums. Art museums include the Arents House and the Groeningemuseum, which has a large collection of medieval and early modern art. Artists from the 15th-century Early Netherlandish school, such as Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling, lived and worked in Bruges.

The old city gates that remain are the Kruispoort, Gentpoort, Smedenpoort, and Ezelpoort. The Dampoort, Katelijnepoort, and Boeveriepoort no longer exist.

Museums related to hospitals include the Old St. John's Hospital (also known as the Hans Memling Museum) and Our Lady of the Potteries. The city has a group of 13 historical museums called Musea Brugge, including the Gruuthusemuseum, Archaeological Museum, Gentpoort, Belfry, City Hall on the Burg square, Provinciaal Hof, Manor of the Brugse Vrije, Museum of Folklore, Guido Gezelle Museum, Koelewei Mill, and Sint-Janshuis Mill.

Other museums not managed by the city include the Brewery Museum, Hof Bladelin, Choco-Story (a chocolate museum), Lumina Domestica (a lamp museum), Museum-Gallery Xpo: Salvador Dalí, Diamond Museum, Frietmuseum (a museum about Belgian fries), Historium (a museum about Bruges' medieval history), Lace Centre, St. George's Archers Guild, St. Sebastian's Archers’ Guild, St. Trudo Abbey, and the Public Observatory Beisbroek.

Important buildings in Bruges include the City Hall, Provinciaal Hof, Kruispoort, Gruuthusemuseum, Fish Market, and part of the Markt (market square).

The patron saint of Bruges and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges is Donatian of Reims. St. Salvator's Cathedral is also called the Cathedral of the Saviour and St. Donat.

The Basilica of the Holy Blood houses a relic called the Holy Blood, brought to Bruges after the Second Crusade by Thierry of Alsace. This relic is paraded through the city every year in a religious procession. More than 1,600 people participate, many dressed as medieval knights or crusaders.

Other religious landmarks include the Church of Our Lady, English Convent, Jerusalem Church, St. Trudo's Abbey, Ten Wijngaerde Beguinage, and Ter Doest Abbey in Lissewege.

The sub-municipality of Bruges Sint-Andries has its own patron saint, Andrew the Apostle, and is dedicated to the parish Church of St. Andrew and St. Anna.

Important sites in Bruges include:
– St. Salvator's Cathedral
– Church of Our Lady
– The Beguinage
– Procession of the Holy Blood (a UNESCO heritage site)
– Brugse Belofte procession in 2010.

Transport

Bruges has roads that connect it to many places:

• to Ostend
• to Ghent and Brussels
• to Veurne and France
• to Kortrijk and Tournai
• to Zeebrugge
• to Antwerp

Driving in the historical center of Bruges, which is surrounded by a circle of canals, is discouraged by traffic rules. These rules include one-way streets and set routes that lead to central parking areas and direct exit paths. The parking areas are near the main shopping and tourist areas and are not expensive.

Bruges' main train station connects to the Belgian coast. It also has trains that run at least once every hour to other major cities in Belgium and to Lille in France. There are also regional and local train services.

A new track is being built between Bruges and Dudzele, which connects to Zeebrugge to reduce traffic jams. Similarly, two additional tracks are being built between Bruges and Ghent.

Buses frequently travel to the center of Bruges. The train station is about a 10-minute walk from the main shopping streets and a 20-minute walk from Market Square.

The national Brussels Airport is about one hour away by train or car and offers the best travel connections. The closest airport is Ostend-Bruges International Airport, located about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Bruges. However, this airport has limited passenger services and connections. Recently, a direct bus line was added from Brussels South Charleroi Airport to Bruges.

Bruges has many bus routes operated by De Lijn. These buses connect to the city center, nearby areas, and towns and villages in the surrounding region.

Free public transportation is available for people who park their cars at the main train station parking area, as part of the city’s traffic management plan.

Although some streets have restrictions, no part of Bruges is completely car-free. Drivers must let pedestrians and cyclists go first. Plans to ban cars or limit traffic more in the historic center have been discussed for many years but have not been completed. In 2005, signs were changed to allow two-way bicycle traffic on more streets, but car traffic has not decreased. Bruges has many cyclists, like other cities in the region.

The port of Bruges is called Zeebrugge, which means "Bruges-on-Sea" in Dutch.

On March 6, 1987, the British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise sank after leaving the port, killing 187 people. This was the worst disaster involving a British civilian ship since 1919. The ferry had left with its front door open. It was heading to the Port of Dover in Kent, England. Many passengers had taken advantage of a newspaper offer for a £1 round-trip ticket from Dover to Zeebrugge.

Demographics

Bruges is the sixth largest city in the country by population, after Brussels, Antwerp, Charleroi, Liège, and Ghent.

Sport

From 1998 to 2016, Bruges was the starting point for the annual Tour of Flanders cycle race, held in April and one of the largest sporting events in Belgium.

Football is popular in Bruges. The city has two professional football teams, both playing in the Belgian First Division: Club Brugge K.V. and Cercle Brugge K.S.V. Both teams play their home games at the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has 30,000 seats, located in Sint-Andries. Plans are being made to build a new stadium for Club Brugge with about 45,000 seats in the northern part of the city. At the same time, the city council plans to renovate the Jan Breydel Stadium and make its capacity smaller for Cercle Brugge.

In 2000, Bruges was one of eight cities in Belgium and the Netherlands that hosted the UEFA European Football Championship.

In 2021, Bruges, along with Leuven, hosted the UCI Road World Championships.

Education

Bruges is a center for education in West Flanders. In addition to many primary and secondary schools, the city has several colleges, such as VIVES, which was formed by combining the former KHBO (Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge Oostende) and KATHO (katholieke hogeschool), and HOWEST (Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen). Additionally, the city is home to the College of Europe, a well-known institution offering advanced studies in European Economics, Law, and Politics. It also hosts the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), a research and training institute under the United Nations University that focuses on comparing regional integration across different areas.

In popular culture

• Hendrik Conscience's The Lion of Flanders, or the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1836, Dutch: De Leeuw van Vlaenderen, of de Slag der Gulden Sporen) is a historical fiction novel that describes events from the medieval Franco-Flemish War and the Battle of the Golden Spurs, both of which include Bruges in their history.
• Ludwig Bemelmans' children's book The Golden Basket (1936) follows a family's visit to Bruges. In the story, two sisters stay at the Golden Basket hotel in Bruges with their father. During a visit to Bruges cathedral with the innkeeper's son, the sisters meet twelve young schoolgirls, introducing Bemelmans' most famous character, Madeline.
• Bruges-la-Morte (1892), a short novel by Belgian author Georges Rodenbach, inspired the libretto (the text used for an opera) of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera Die tote Stadt (1920).
• Detective stories written by Belgian author Pieter Aspe take place in Bruges.
• Niccolò Rising (1986), the first book in Dorothy Dunnett's eight-volume series House of Niccolò, is mostly set in Bruges. Other books in the series also include scenes set in the city.
• L'Astrologue de Bruges ("The Astrologer of Bruges," 1994), a Belgian comic book in the Yoko Tsuno series, is entirely set in both modern-day and 1545 Bruges.

• The Nun's Story, a 1959 film directed by Fred Zinneman and starring Audrey Hepburn, is mainly set in Bruges.
• The Killer Is on the Phone (Italian: L'assassino… è al telefono), a 1972 giallo film, is set in Bruges.
• The main villain in the Austin Powers film series, Dr. Evil, was raised in Bruges.
• In Bruges (2008), a film starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, is set almost entirely in Bruges. The movie, directed by Martin McDonagh, frequently mentions the city's landmarks and history, as well as the differing perspectives of the two main characters.
• The 2014 Bollywood film PK includes opening scenes set in Bruges, featuring actors Anushka Sharma and Sushant Singh Rajput, including the song Chaar Kadam.
• The story of the Madonna of Bruges being taken by the Nazis and later returned is shown in the 2014 film The Monuments Men.
• The 2019 Hallmark movie Love, Romance & Chocolate, starring Lacey Chabert, is set in Bruges.

Town twinning policy

Bruges has never officially approved any agreements for twin towns or sister cities. In the 1950s, Bruges refused a proposed sister city partnership with Nice, Nuremberg, Locarno, and Venice. This partnership had been signed by a Belgian ambassador without asking for Bruges’ opinion. The twin relationships with some smaller towns that were merged into Bruges in 1971 were later stopped.

Bruges has had these international connections:

• Bastogne, Belgium: After World War II and until the 1970s, Bruges, especially its fire department, had friendly relationships with Bastogne. Every year, Bruges offered free seaside holidays in Zeebrugge for children from Bastogne, which is sometimes called the "Nuts city."
• Arolsen, Germany: From the 1950s to the 1980s, Bruges supported the Belgian First Regiment of Horse Guards, which was based in Arolsen.
• Salamanca, Spain: Both Bruges and Salamanca were chosen as European Capitals of Culture in 2002. Bruges arranged some exchanges with Salamanca during that time.
• Mons, Belgium: In 2007, Bruges and Mons started working together on cultural and artistic projects.
• Burgos, Spain: On January 29, 2007, the mayors of Burgos and Bruges signed an agreement to cooperate on cultural, tourism, and economic matters in the future.