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BRU·jiz - /bɹuˈʤɪz/
BELGIUM
Why It's Worth a Visit -
Known for it's beautiful, historic Old Town woven with canals, the entire city center of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dating to the 12th century, a significant portion of the medieval town still exists, making it one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe.
@ a glance essentials:
Language:
French & Dutch
Most locals can speak English
Country's Visitation Limit:
90 Days
Water safety
Generally Safe to Drink
Emergency #
112 Police: 101 Ambulance:100
.
How to Say - Hello:
Merci (F) or Bedankt (D)
Thank You:
Merci (F) or Bedankt (D)
Hot Tip:
Bruges has become a tourist hotspot which makes finding authentic Bruges goods like real Belgian chocolate or Bruges lace hard to find (most shops sell 'made in China' knock offs.) Look for the municipal logo; a cacao pod framed by swans, to guarantee your chocolate is local and the Lace Centre is a good place to get traditional Bruges lace.
The first fortifications of the coastal city (to protect it from pirates) were built in the first century under Julius Caesars reign. It eventually became the capitol of Flanders in the middle ages which is when its now famous canals were built. It is also the home of the world's first Stock Exchange, founded by Napolianic decree in 1801 (the Bourse, source of the European words for stock exchange even today; börsen, Børs Börse, Börs, børs Borsa valori, bolsa etc.)
a bit of background...
CHECK OUT THE:
..........................Bruges has a 2 miles beer pipeline connecting De Halve Maan Brewery (brewing in the same local since 1564) to a bottling plant, 120+ feet underground and avoiding private land to prevent unauthorized tapping!
Built to accommodate the success of it's Brugse Zot beer - which translates to “fools of Bruges” - a nickname given in the 15th c. by Maximilian, ruler of Flanders after he was temporarily held prisoner in Craenenburg House. Later, when the town requested a new mental hospital, he famously remarked the whole town was made of fools so they didn't need a hospital, they only needed to lock the city gates.
FUN FACT:
The city has been a popular tourist attraction for it's medieval architecture since the 19th century. It's profile rose even higher with 2008 dark comedy In Bruges about Irish hitmen forced to hide & sightsee in the beautiful city after a botched job. It's name recognition & appeal in the UK & USA was greatly boosted by the film and Bruges is now always crowded, so try to go in the off season.
Belgian Gaufre/Waffles* with fruit & whipped cream or Liège Syrup, a sweet reduction of fruits
Moules-Frites/ Mussels & Belgian Fries** with mayonnaise or andalouse ▪️ Waterzooi - a Flemish creamy fish stew
Crevettes Grises/ [Tiny] Grey Shrimp in croquettes or tomatoes
Belgium is also well known for it's Chocolate rivaling Switzerland's & Beer as good the German's.
*Belgian waffles is a misnomer. There are 2 distinct styles - Brussels; rectangular, light and crispy & Liège; thick, chewy & sweet with sugar in the batter that caramelized when grilled.
** There's a hot debate as to whether the French or the Belgians came up with fries, but when in Brussels...
Must Try Local Cuisine:
SEE
DO TRY
&
VISIT
What to Where to Why . . .
Highlights:
📍 Historic Churches* like Basilica of the Holy Blood 📸 w/ relic of Jesus’s blood, (which
is actually two chapels; an upper, Gothic chapel from the 16th c. & a lower Romanesque
cellar chapel virtually unchanged since it was built in the early 12th c.)
📍 Creepy, atmospheric Graveyards like Centrale Begraafplaats Brugge Assebroek, oldest
in Belgium & home to the moss covered skull & tomb of Antoine Michel Wemaer,
apocryphally known as Pirate Piet (really Antoine was just a wine & textile merchant)
📍 Old Town with it's canals, cobble stones & 80+ bridges like Bonifacius Bridge. 📸
There's a steam wheeler, Lamme Goedzak, that sails between Bruges & Damme.
In the summer you can swim in the canals along the Coupure
📍 Le Trappiste, a preserved 13th-century cellar turned bar, & Vault Cafés in basements
of Taverne Curiosa and Bistro 't Zwart Huis
📍 Dumon Chocolatier for Belgium Chocolate & The Potato Bar for Belgium Frittes
📍 Lumina Domestica lamp museum covering 400,000 years of lamp history & design, with 6,000+ lamps in
there collection all the way back to clay 'genie' oil lamps
*Church of Our Lady, St Saviour's Cathedral, St Anne's Church, Chapel of Our Lady of the Blind & St Magdalene's Church/ coffee bar with a swing are all also worth a visit
Cobbled Streets
Most Known For:
Dumon Chocolatier
♦️ Grote Markt, medieval central square, c. 958 CE, w/ Huis Bouchoute's giant weather
vane compass, Provincial Palace, 13th c. Belfort Belfry, (366 steps, 83m/ 272 ft) w/ 47
tower bells, played for 1H @11am Wed, Sat & Sun. and Christmas Market w/ Ice rink
🔸 The Burg city square from 1376 with the vaulted gothic hall city hall (Stadhuis)
♦️ Bruges specific museums like: the Diamond Museum, the Chocolate Museum/ Choco-
Story, the Frietmuseum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the french
(or Belgian) fry, Bruges Beer Experience & Salvador Dali Exhibition
🔸 Smedenpoort Gate & Skull 📸 - A bronzed skull of beheaded 17th c. traitor, François
van der Straeten, affixed to the medieval Smedenpoort, or Blacksmith's Gate, c. 1297,
(one of the four remaining city gates) The skull went missing during the French
Revolution and the original bronze skull, once found in 1876, was moved to the
Archaeological Museum in Bruges for safe keeping, but a replica now hangs in it's place
♦️ The Devil's Pants stonework relief commemorates a visit of the Devil in the form of a
traveler to a local boarding house. His identity was discovered due to the lack of fly
in his pants to do his business & a strange hole at the back for his tail. The innkeep
burned the satanic trousers - in response the devil burned down in inn
🔸 Historic Windmills c. 17th-19th centuries; including an iconic 4 along the city ramparts.
The Sint-Janshuismolen Windmill still grinds flour & has an attached museum.
♦️ Minnewater Lake, or “Lake of Love” - said to be named after doomed medieval lovers.
If you cross the bridge with your partner, legend is you’ll experience eternal love.
..................Spanjaardstraat 17, on the corner by Augustine Bridge is said to be haunted by a woman in white and a grim man all in black. It used to be a convent, with an Augustinian Monastery opposite, over the canal. In the 1890's a tunnel was found beneath the canal, supposedly with two skeletons and a long dagger inside.
A spiritualist, William Eglinton, conduct séances and claimed contact with the spirits; the male was said to be a monk who had fallen in love with a nun and used the tunnel to reach her and beg she run away with him. When she refused to break her vows he stabbed her in a rage and then himself. The nun is said to have communicated “I did love him. I couldn’t help it” and asked for prayers for the soul of the monk.
Cool Local
🌀 Procession of the Holy Blood, from the Basilica of the Holy Blood on Ascension Day, practiced since the 13th
century were the Brotherhood of the Holy Blood parades the relic through town in biblical costumes (with
biblical animals) and is said to become liquid again
🌀 Music Festivals like the Classical Bruges Festival of Flanders (October) & Medieval Musica Antiqua Festival
🌀 Flower Carpet Festival (August) - where millions of colorful flowers, 'woven' into themed patterned carpets
cover the city square
🌀 Tromso Bruges Beer Festival (February)
Close Enough to Visit:
🪧 Antwerp, BE - Diamond capitol of the world
🪧 Brussels, BE - home of the EU, La Grand-Place & Atomium
🪧 Ghent, BE - home of Carnaval De Binche
🪧 Mons, BE - home of Doudou, Ritual Ducasse (George & the Dragon Festival)
🪧 Dunkirk & Calais, FR - sites of significant WWII battles
Going to visit
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Bruges
Bruges
Site Key:
Five Star Recommend
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