Bruges#Port

The earliest mention of the location's name is as {{Lang|la|Briuccas}}, {{Lang|la|Briuggas}}, {{Lang|la|Bruccas}}, {{Lang|la|Bruggas}}, {{Lang|la|Brvggas}} or {{Lang|la|Brvccia}} in AD 840–875. Afterwards, it appears as {{Lang|la|Bruciam}}, {{Lang|la|Bruociam}} or {{Lang|la|Bryggja}} (892); as {{Lang|la|Brutgis uico}} (late ninth century); as {{Lang|la|in portu Bruggensi}} ({{circa|1010}}); as {{Lang|la|Bruggis}} (1012); as {{Lang|ang|Bricge}} in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1037); as {{Lang|la|Brugensis}} (1046); as {{Lang|ang|Brycge}} in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1049–1052); as {{Lang|und|Brugias}} (1072); as {{Lang|und|Bruges}} (1080–1085); as {{Lang|und|Bruggas}} ({{circa|1084}}); as {{Lang|und|Brugis}} (1089); and as {{Lang|und|Brugge}} (1116).{{notetag|Maurits Gysseling, Toponymisch woordenboek van België, Nederland, Luxemburg, Noord-Frankrijk en West-Duitsland (vóór 1226), Brussel 1960, p. 195.}}

The name probably derives from the Old Dutch for 'bridge': {{wikt-lang|odt|brugga}}. Also compare Middle Dutch {{lang|dum|brucge}}, {{lang|dum|brugge}} (or {{lang|dum|brugghe}}, {{lang|dum|brigghe}}, {{lang|dum|bregghe}}, {{lang|dum|brogghe}}), and modern Dutch {{lang|nl|breydelstad}} or {{lang|nl|bruggenhoofd}} ('bridgehead') and {{lang|nl|brug}} ('bridge').{{notetag|{{cite web |url=http://etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/brug |title=brug |work=etymologiebank.nl |date=5 April 1922 |access-date=20 February 2014}}}} The form {{lang|nl|brugghe}} would be a southern Dutch variant.{{notetag|M. Philippa, F. Debrabandere, A. Quak, T. Schoonheim & N. van der Sijs (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, AUP: Amsterdam.}} The Dutch word and the English bridge both derive from Proto-Germanic {{lang|gem-x-proto|*brugjō-}}.{{cite book |title=American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americanheritage1986morr/page/1510 |chapter-url-access=registration |year=1969 |publisher=American Heritage Publishing Co. |page=1510 |editor-first=William |editor-last=Morris |chapter=Appendix, "Indo-European Roots" |isbn=9780395090664}}

{{For timeline}}

Bruges was a location of coastal settlement during pre-history. This Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement are unrelated to medieval city development. In the Bruges area, the first fortifications were built after Julius Caesar's conquest of the Menapii in the first century BC, to protect the coastal area against pirates. The Franks took over the whole region from the Gallo-Romans around the fourth century and administered it as the Pagus Flandrensis. The Viking incursions of the ninth century prompted Count Baldwin I of Flanders to reinforce the Roman fortifications; trade soon resumed with England and Scandinavia. Early medieval habitation starts in the ninth and tenth centuries on the Burgh terrain, probably with a fortified settlement and church.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yV-wAAAAIAAJ&q=medieval+bruges+burgh|title=An Ethnogeography of Late Medieval Bruges|date=1 January 2004|isbn=9780773464216|last1=Boogaart|first1=Thomas A.|publisher=Edwin Mellen Press }}

File:Belgium-36 (26598965719).jpg (market square).]]

In 1089, Bruges became the capital of the County of Flanders. Bruges received its city charter on 27 July 1128, and new walls and canals were built. By the 12th century, the city had gained an autonomous administration.{{Cite book |last=Fossier |first=Robert |url=http://archive.org/details/cambridgeillustr00robe |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Middle Ages |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-521-26644-4 |location=Cambridge; New York |pages=374 |language=en}} Het Zwin (Golden Inlet), the tidal inlet of Bruges, was crucial to the development of local commerce.{{cite journal |last1=Charlier |first1=Roger H. |date=2005 |title=Charlier, Roger H. "Grandeur, Decadence and Renaissance |journal=Journal of Coastal Research |pages=425–447 |jstor=25737011}}{{cite journal |last1=Charlier |first1=Roger H. |date=2010 |title=The Zwin: From Golden Inlet to Nature Reserve |journal=Journal of Coastal Research |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=746–756 |doi=10.2112/10A-00003.1 |author-link=Roger Charlier |s2cid=131619959}} Since about 1050, gradual silting had caused the city to lose its direct access to the sea. A storm in 1134, however, re-established this access, through the creation of a natural channel at the Zwin. The new sea arm stretched to Damme, a city that became the commercial outpost for Bruges.

Bruges had a strategic location at the crossroads of the northern Hanseatic League trade, who had a kontor in the city, and the southern trade routes. Bruges was already included in the circuit of the Flemish and French cloth fairs at the beginning of the 13th century, but when the old system of fairs broke down, the entrepreneurs of Bruges innovated. They developed, or borrowed from Italy, new forms of merchant capitalism, whereby several merchants would share the risks and profits and pool their knowledge of markets. They employed new forms of economic exchange, including bills of exchange (i.e. promissory notes) and letters of credit.{{cite book|first=Mack|last=Ott|title=The Political Economy of Nation Building: The World's Unfinished Business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJyRLypfagYC&pg=PA92|year=2012|publisher=Transaction Publishers|page=92|isbn=9781412847421}} The city eagerly welcomed foreign traders, most notably the Portuguese traders selling pepper and other spices.{{cite book|author=James Donald Tracy|title=The Rise of Merchant Empires: Long-Distance Trade in the Early Modern World, 1350-1750|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heEdZziizrUC&pg=PA263|year=1993|publisher=Cambridge U.P.|page=263|isbn=9780521457354}}

File:Chroniques de Froissart (15e eeuw) - Slag op het Beverhoutsveld.png (1382) in Froissart's Chronicles, with Bruges as setting.]]

With the reawakening of town life in the 12th century, a wool market, a woolens weaving industry, and the cloth market all profited from the shelter of city walls, where surpluses could be safely accumulated under the patronage of the counts of Flanders. The city's entrepreneurs reached out to make economic colonies of England and Scotland's{{cite book|last1=Nimmo|first1=William|last2=Gillespie|first2=Robert|title=The history of Stirlingshire|date=1880|publisher=Thomas D. Morison|location=Glasgow|page=369|edition=3rd|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofstirlin01nimm#page/369/mode/1up|access-date=5 April 2017}} wool-producing districts. English contacts brought Normandy grain and Gascon wines. Hanseatic ships filled the harbor, which had to be expanded beyond Damme to Sluys to accommodate the new cog-ships.

In 1277, the first merchant fleet from the Republic of Genoa appeared in the port of Bruges, the first of the merchant colony that made Bruges the main link to the trade of the Mediterranean.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLFQAAAAYAAJ&q=the+first+merchant+fleet+from+Genoa+appeared+in+the+port+of+Bruges,+first+of+the+merchant+colony+that+made+Bruges+the+main+link+to+the+trade+of+the+Mediterranean|title=Bruges and Europe|isbn=9789061532804|last1=Aerts|first1=Erik|year=1992|publisher=Fonds Mercator }} This development opened not only the trade in spices from the Levant but also advanced commercial and financial techniques and a flood of capital that soon took over the banking of Bruges. The building where the Genoese Republic housed its commercial representation in the city still survives, now housing the Frietmuseum.{{Cite web|title=Frietmuseum, Bruges - Museum|url=https://www.frietmuseum.be/en/museum.htm|access-date=26 January 2021|website=www.frietmuseum.be|archive-date=1 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201230433/https://www.frietmuseum.be/en/museum.htm|url-status=dead}}

File:Simon Bening - Oktober.jpg

The Bourse opened in 1309 (most likely the first stock exchange in the world) and developed into the most sophisticated money market of the Low Countries in the 14th century. By the time Venetian galleys first appeared, in 1314, they were latecomers.{{notetag|Braudel, Fernand, The Perspective of the World, in Vol. III Civilization and Capitalism, 1984.}} Numerous foreign merchants were welcomed in Bruges, such as the Castilian wool merchants who first arrived in the 13th century. After the Castilian wool monopoly ended, the Basques, many hailing from Bilbao (Biscay), thrived as merchants (wool, iron commodities, etc.) and established their own commercial consulate in Bruges by the mid-15th century.{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Roger|title=The Basques|year=1990|publisher=Basil Blackwell|location=Oxford, UK|page=241|isbn=978-0631175650|edition=2nd}} The foreign merchants expanded the city's trading zones. They maintained separate communities governed by their own laws until the economic collapse after 1700.{{cite journal | last1 = Phillips | first1 = William D. Jr. | year = 1986 | title = Local Integration and Long-Distance Ties: The Castilian Community in Sixteenth-Century Bruges | journal = Sixteenth Century Journal | volume = 17 | issue = 1| pages = 33–49 | doi=10.2307/2541354| jstor = 2541354 | s2cid = 165895860}}

Such wealth gave rise to social upheavals, which were for the most part harshly contained by the militia. In 1302, however, after the Bruges Matins (the night-time massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by the members of the local Flemish militia on 18 May 1302), the population joined forces with the Count of Flanders against the French, culminating in the victory at the Battle of the Golden Spurs, fought near Kortrijk on 11 July. The statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, the leaders of the uprising, can still be seen on the Big Market square. The city maintained a militia as a permanent paramilitary body. It gained flexibility and high prestige through close ties to a guild of the organized militia, comprising professionals and specialized units. Militia men bought and maintained their own weapons and armor, according to their family status and wealth. Later, Bruges would be consumed in the Flemish revolts that occurred around the County of Flanders between 1323 and 1328.

File:Jan Baptist van Meunincxhove - The Burg in Bruges.jpg.]]

At the end of the 14th century, Bruges became one of the Four Members, along with Brugse Vrije, Ghent, and Ypres. Together they formed a parliament; however, they frequently quarreled amongst themselves.{{notetag|Philip the Good: the apogee of Burgundy by Richard Vaughan, p201.}}

In the 15th century, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, set up a court in Bruges, as well as Brussels and Lille, attracting several artists, bankers, and other prominent personalities from all over Europe.{{notetag|{{cite journal | last1 = Dumolyn | first1 = Jan | year = 2010 | title = 'Our land is only founded on trade and industry.' Economic discourses in fifteenth-century Bruges | journal = Journal of Medieval History | volume = 36 | issue = 4| pages = 374–389 | doi=10.1016/j.jmedhist.2010.09.003| s2cid = 153711918}}}} The weavers and spinners of Bruges were thought to be the best in the world, and the population of Bruges grew to at least 46,000 inhabitants at this time around 1350 AD.[https://libstore.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/002/271/853/RUG01-002271853_2016_0001_AC.pdf De Brugse stadsmagistraat in de late 14e eeuw - Een prosopografische studie voor de periode 1359-1375]

The new oil-painting techniques of the Flemish school gained world renown. The first book in English ever printed was published in Bruges by William Caxton. Edward IV and Richard III of England were then living in exile in Bruges.

File:Bruges, Belgium ; Ferraris Map.jpg, {{Circa|1775}}]]

Starting around 1500, the Zwin channel, (the Golden Inlet) which had given the city its prosperity, began silting up and the Golden Era ended. The city soon fell behind Antwerp as the economic flagship of the Low Countries. During the 17th century, the lace industry took off, and various efforts to bring back the glorious past were made. During the 1650s, the city was the base for Charles II of England and his court in exile.{{cite web|first=David|last=Plant|url=http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/charles2.htm |title=Charles, Prince of Wales, (later Charles II), 1630-85 |publisher=British-civil-wars.co.uk |date=10 September 2007 |access-date=7 July 2009 |archive-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919143610/http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/charles2.htm}} The maritime infrastructure was modernized, and new connections with the sea were built, but without much success, as Antwerp became increasingly dominant. Bruges became impoverished and gradually faded in importance.{{cite book

|last = Dunton

|first = Larkin

|title = The World and Its People

|url = https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop01duntgoog

|publisher = Silver, Burdett

|year = 1896

|page = [https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop01duntgoog/page/n166 160]}}

The symbolist novelist George Rodenbach made the city into a character in his novel Bruges-la-Morte, meaning "Bruges-the-dead", which was adapted into Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera, Die tote Stadt (The Dead City).{{cite book|author=Andre de Vries|title=Flanders:A Cultural History: A Cultural History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvSovOY_VV0C&pg=PA143|year=2007|publisher=Oxford U.P.|page=143|isbn=9780199837335}}

File:Postcard - Bruges Cranenburg (Excelsior Series 11, No. 51, Albert Sugg a Gand; ca. 1905).jpg{{notetag|(Excelsior Series 11, No. 51, Albert Sugg a Gand; ca. 1905): Cranenburg, from the windows of which, in olden times, the Counts of Flanders, with the lords and ladies of their Court, used to watch the tournaments and pageants for which Bruges was celebrated, and in which Maximilian was imprisoned by the burghers in 1488 ([http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18670/18670-h/18670-h.htm#page_4 Bruges and West Flanders], George W. T. Omond, Illustrated by Amédée Forestier, 1906. Project Gutenberg Edition.)}}.]]

In the second half of the 19th century, Bruges became one of the world's first tourist destinations, attracting wealthy British and French tourists.{{Citation | publisher = Karl Baedeker | location = Coblenz | title = Belgium and Holland | date = 1869 | oclc = 18168820 | url = https://archive.org/details/belgiumandholla12firgoog|pages=9–10}} By 1909, the 'Bruges Forward: Society to Improve Tourist' association had come into operation.{{cite book|author=Stephen V. (Stephen Victor) Ward|title=Selling Places: The Marketing and Promotion of Towns and Cities, 1850-2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9L6GgYgEAIC&pg=PA40|year=1998|publisher=Spon|page=40|isbn=9780419206101}}

In World War I, German forces occupied Bruges. However, the city suffered virtually no damage, and was liberated on 19 October 1918 by the Allies. The city was occupied by the Germans from 1940 during World War II and was again spared destruction. On 12 September 1944, it was liberated by the 12th Manitoba Dragoons' Canadian troops. The liberation of the city was facilitated by the bridge, now known as the {{ill|Canada Bridge|nl|Canadabrug}}, connecting the outer municipalities with the city centre.

After 1965, the original medieval city experienced a "renaissance". Restorations of residential and commercial structures, historic monuments, and churches generated a surge in tourism and economic activity in the downtown area. International tourism has boomed, and new efforts resulted in Bruges being designated European Capital of Culture in 2002. It attracts some eight million tourists annually.{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Antony |title=The Belgian city that solved the problem of a tourist invasion |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/belgium/articles/bruges-overtourism/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/belgium/articles/bruges-overtourism/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=10 December 2018}}{{cbignore}}

The port of Zeebrugge was built in 1907. The Germans used it for their U-boats in World War I. It was greatly expanded in the 1970s and early 1980s and has become one of Europe's most important and modern ports.

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File:MnpBruggeMap.svg

The municipality comprises following sub-municipalities:

• 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)

{{clear left}}

Brugge is the sixth most populous city in the country after Brussels, Antwerp, Charleroi, Liège, and Ghent.

Bruges has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb).

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Bruges (1981–2010 normals, sunshine 1984–2013)

|collapsed =

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C =

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|Dec record high C =

|year record high C =

|Jan high C = 6.2

|Feb high C = 7.0

|Mar high C = 10.8

|Apr high C = 14.5

|May high C = 17.4

|Jun high C = 19.9

|Jul high C = 22.4

|Aug high C = 22.5

|Sep high C = 19.7

|Oct high C = 15.3

|Nov high C = 10.1

|Dec high C = 6.6

|year high C = 14.7

|Jan mean C = 3.6

|Feb mean C = 3.8

|Mar mean C = 6.8

|Apr mean C = 9.3

|May mean C = 12.9

|Jun mean C = 15.6

|Jul mean C = 17.9

|Aug mean C = 17.9

|Sep mean C = 15.0

|Oct mean C = 11.3

|Nov mean C = 7.1

|Dec mean C = 4.1

|year mean C = 10.6

|Jan low C = 0.9

|Feb low C = 0.6

|Mar low C = 2.8

|Apr low C = 4.5

|May low C = 8.4

|Jun low C = 11.3

|Jul low C = 13.3

|Aug low C = 12.9

|Sep low C = 10.4

|Oct low C = 7.4

|Nov low C = 4.2

|Dec low C = 1.7

|year low C = 6.5

|Jan record low C =

|Feb record low C =

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|year record low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 66.5

|Feb precipitation mm = 55.8

|Mar precipitation mm = 58.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 44.2

|May precipitation mm = 61.5

|Jun precipitation mm = 68.5

|Jul precipitation mm = 71.3

|Aug precipitation mm = 79.0

|Sep precipitation mm = 79.2

|Oct precipitation mm = 84.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 86.1

|Dec precipitation mm = 81.1

|year precipitation mm = 836.2

|Jan precipitation days = 12.6

|Feb precipitation days = 10.6

|Mar precipitation days = 11.8

|Apr precipitation days = 9.7

|May precipitation days = 10.7

|Jun precipitation days = 10.0

|Jul precipitation days = 9.9

|Aug precipitation days = 9.9

|Sep precipitation days = 10.8

|Oct precipitation days = 12.1

|Nov precipitation days = 13.7

|Dec precipitation days = 13.3

|year precipitation days = 135.1

|Jan sun = 63

|Feb sun = 83

|Mar sun = 130

|Apr sun = 187

|May sun = 217

|Jun sun = 211

|Jul sun = 221

|Aug sun = 208

|Sep sun = 152

|Oct sun = 118

|Nov sun = 65

|Dec sun = 51

|year sun = 1705

|source = Royal Meteorological Institute{{cite web|url=https://www.meteo.be/resources/climateCity/pdf/climate_INS31005_BRUGGE_nl.pdf|title=Klimaatstatistieken van de Belgische gemeenten|publisher=Royal Meteorological Institute|language=nl|access-date=29 May 2018}}

}}

File:cmglee_Bruges_Boudewijnkanaal_aerial.jpg

Bruges has motorway connections in all directions:

• File:BE-A10.svg to Ostend
• File:BE-A10.svg File:Tabliczka E40.svg to Ghent and Brussels
• File:BE-A18.svg File:Tabliczka E40.svg to Veurne and France
• File:BE-A17.svg File:Tabliczka E403.svg to Kortrijk and Tournai
• File:BE-N31.svg File:Tabliczka E403.svg to Zeebrugge
• File:BE-N49.svg File:Tabliczka E34.svg to Antwerp

Driving within the 'egg', the historical centre enclosed by the main circle of canals in Bruges is discouraged by traffic management schemes, including a network of one-way streets. The system encourages the use of set routes leading to central car parks and direct exit routes. The car parks are convenient for the central commercial and tourist areas; they are not expensive.

Bruges' main railway station is the focus of lines to the Belgian coast. It also provides at least hourly trains to all other major cities in Belgium, as well as to Lille in France.{{Cite web|url=https://bemarietravels.com/how-to-get-to-bruges-by-train-flight-bus-and-ferry/|title=How To Get To Bruges|date=6 September 2018}} Further there are several regional and local trains.

A third track is being constructed between Bruges and Dudzele, the junction for Zeebrugge to alleviate congestion. Similarly, two extra tracks are being built between Bruges and Ghent.{{cite web |title=Axis between Ghent ant the coast |url=https://www.tucrail.be/en/projects/new-infrastructure/axis-between-ghent-ant-coast |website=TUC rail |access-date=12 February 2023}}

Bus links to the centre are frequent, though the railway station is just a 10-minute walk from the main shopping streets and a 20-minute walk from Market Square.

The national Brussels Airport, one hour away by train or car, offers the best connections. The nearest airport is the Ostend-Bruges International Airport in Ostend (around {{convert|25|km|0|abbr=off}} from the city centre of Bruges), but it offers limited passenger transport and connections. Recently there also started a direct bus line from Brussels South Charleroi Airport to Bruges.

File:Busstationtzandbrugge.jpg

Bruges has an extensive web of bus lines, operated by De Lijn, providing access to the city centre and the suburbs (city lines, {{langx|nl|stadslijnen}}) and to many towns and villages in the region around the city (regional lines, {{langx|nl|streeklijnen}}).

In support of the municipal traffic management (see "Road" above), free public transport is available for those who park their cars in the main railway station car park.

Although a few streets are restricted, no part of Bruges is car-free.{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitbruges.be/car|title=Car|website=Visit Bruges}}

Cars are required to yield to pedestrians and cyclists. Plans have long been underway to ban cars altogether from the historic center of Bruges or to restrict traffic much more than it currently is, but these plans have yet to come to fruition. In 2005, signs were changed for the convenience of cyclists, allowing two-way cycle traffic on more streets ; however, car traffic has not decreased. {{citation needed|date=October 2014}} Nevertheless, in common with many cities in the region, there are thousands of cyclists in the city of Bruges. {{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

File:Elly Maersk.jpg

{{Main|Seaport of Bruges}}

The port of Bruges is Zeebrugge (Flemish for Bruges-on-Sea). On 6 March 1987, the British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsized after leaving the port, killing 187 people, in the worst disaster involving a British civilian vessel since 1919; it had set sail with its bow door open.{{cite web|url=http://www.maib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/HofFEfinal.pdf |title=The Merchant Shipping Act : mv Herald of Free Enterprise : Formal Investigation |publisher=Maib.gov.uk |access-date=20 February 2014}} The Herald of Free Enterprise was a passenger ship bound for the Port of Dover in Kent. Most of the occupants had taken advantage of a newspaper promotion offering a £1 return trip from Dover to Zeebrugge.{{Cite news|date=6 March 2017|title=Zeebrugge ferry disaster marked 30 years on|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-39177104|access-date=8 November 2021}}

File:Brugge Belfort HDR.jpg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.]]

The medieval architecture in Bruges is mostly intact, making it one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe.{{cite web|url=http://www.iexplore.com/experiences/cultural-exploration/Canal-Towns-to-Visit|title=Skip the Crowds at Venice: 5 Better Canal Towns to Visit|last1=Hahn|first1=Lindsay|website=iExplore.com|date=6 August 2016 |publisher=Inside-Out Media|access-date=25 September 2016}} The "Historic Centre of Bruges" has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/996|title=Historic Centre of Brugge – UNESCO World Heritage Centre|publisher=Whc.unesco.org|access-date=20 February 2014}} Its medieval buildings include the Church of Our Lady, whose brick spire reaches {{convert|115.6|m|2|abbr=on}}, making it the world's second-highest brick tower/building. The sculpture Madonna and Child, which can be seen in the transept, is believed to be the only of Michelangelo's sculptures to have left Italy within his lifetime.

Bruges' best-known landmark is the Belfry of Bruges, a 13th-century belfry housing a municipal carillon comprising 47 bells.{{cite book|last=Dunton|first=Larkin|url=https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog|title=The World and Its People|publisher=Silver, Burdett|year=1896|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldanditspeop05duntgoog/page/n169 161]}} The Belfry of Bruges, independent of the previously mentioned UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bruges, is included on the World Heritage Site of Belfries of Belgium and France.{{cite web |title=World Heritage List {{!}} Belfries of Belgium and France |work=UNESCO |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/943 |access-date=16 March 2021}} The city still employs a full-time carillonneur, who gives free concerts regularly.

In addition to the "Historic Centre of Bruges" and the tower included in the "Belfries of Belgium and France", Bruges is also home to a third UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Ten Wijngaerde Béguinage, a beguinage built in the 13th century, is included in the World Heritage Site of "Flemish Béguinages".

Bruges is known for its lace, a textile technique. Moreover, the city and its lace would go on to inspire the Thread Routes film series, the second episode of which, shot in 2011, was partly set in Bruges.[http://www.heartmus.dk/kimsooja-3472.aspx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226023659/http://www.heartmus.dk/kimsooja-3472.aspx|date=26 February 2015}}

Several beers are named after the city, such as Brugge Blond, Brugge Tripel, Brugs, Brugse Babbelaar, Brugse Straffe Hendrik, and Brugse Zot. However, only the latter two—Brugse Zot and Brugse Straffe Hendrik—are brewed in the city itself, in the De Halve Maan Brewery.

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Aquariustheater
• Boudewijn Seapark (an amusement park in Sint-Michiels)
• Biekorf
• Cinema Liberty
• Cinema Lumière (alternative movies)
• Concertgebouw
• De Dijk
• De Werf
• Het Entrepot
• Joseph Ryelandtzaal
• Kinepolis Bruges
• Magdalenazaal
• Sirkeltheater
• {{Interlanguage link|Stadsschouwburg Brugge|lt=|nl||WD=}}
• Studio Hall

{{div col end}}

File:Concertgebouw R01.jpg|{{Interlanguage link|Concertgebouw (Brugge)|lt=|nl|Concertgebouw (Brugge)|WD=}} ("Concert Building")

File:Dolphinarium Boudewjinpark.JPG|Exterior of the Boudewijn Seapark dolphinarium

Bruges is home to many museums. Its art museums include the Arents House, as well as the Groeningemuseum, which has an extensive collection of medieval and early modern art. Members of the 15th century Early Netherlandish school of painters are represented, including works by Jan van Eyck. Van Eyck, as well as Hans Memling, lived and worked in Bruges.

The preserved old city gateways are the {{ill|Kruispoort|nl|Kruispoort (Brugge)}}, the {{ill|Gentpoort|nl}}, the {{ill|Smedenpoort|nl}} and the {{ill|Ezelpoort|nl}}. The {{ill|Dampoort (Bruges)|lt=Dampoort|nl|Dampoort (Brugge)}}, the {{ill|Katelijnepoort|nl|Katelijnepoort (Brugge)}} and the {{ill|Boeveriepoort|nl}} are no longer present.

The Old St. John's Hospital (Hans Memling museum) and Our Lady of the Potteries are Hospital museums. The city is known for Bruggemuseum ("Bruges Museum"), the general name for a group of 11 different historical museums in the city, including:

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Gruuthusemuseum, a museum for the house of Louis de Gruuthuse.
• Archaeological Museum
• Gentpoort
• Belfry
• City Hall on the {{ill|Burg (Bruges)|nl|Burg (Brugge)}} square
• Provinciaal Hof (Provincial Court)
• Manor of the Brugse Vrije
• Museum of Folklore
• Guido Gezelle Museum
• Koelewei (Cool Meadow) Mill
• Sint-Janshuis (St. John's House) Mill

{{div col end}}

Bruges' non-municipal museums include the Brewery Museum, Hof Bladelin, Choco-Story (chocolate museum), Lumina Domestica (lamp museum), Museum-Gallery Xpo: Salvador Dalí, Diamond Museum,{{cite web|url=http://www.diamondmuseum.be/website/page.asp?lang=en&Pag=10&pnav=;26;|title=Diamond Museum|publisher=Diamond Museum|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208113258/http://diamondmuseum.be/website/page.asp?lang=en&Pag=10&pnav=;26;|archive-date=8 February 2014|access-date=20 January 2014}} Frietmuseum (a museum dedicated to Belgian fries), Historium (museum of the medieval history of Bruges), Lace centre, St. George's Archers Guild, St. Sebastian's Archers’ Guild, St. Trudo Abbey, and the Public Observatory Beisbroek.

File:Bruges Town Hall R01.jpg|The City Hall

File:Belgium-5940 - Provincial Court (13746435813).jpg|The Provinciaal Hof

File:Brugge - Kruispoort 2.jpg|The Kruispoort

File:Brugge Begijnhofkerk R01.jpg|The Béguinage

File:Gruuthusemuseum - 391534 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg|Gruuthusemuseum

File:Brugge-Canal.jpg|The Groenerei (canal)

File:Brugge-CanalRozenhoedkaai.JPG|View from the Rozenhoedkaai

File:Brugge Vismarkt R04.jpg|The Fish Market

File:Brugge, straatzicht op de Markt4 2007-08-05 10.00.JPG|Part of the Markt (market square)

The patron saint of both the city of Bruges and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bruges is Donatian of Reims.{{cite web|url=https://catholicsaints.info/saint-donatian-of-rheims/|title=Saint Donatian of Rheims|date=17 November 2023|publisher=CatholicSaints.info|access-date=13 December 2023}} The St. Salvator's Cathedral is therefore also known as Cathedral of the Saviour and St. Donat.

The Basilica of the Holy Blood ({{langx|nl|Heilig-Bloedbasiliek}}) houses the relic of the Holy Blood, which was brought to the city after the Second Crusade by Thierry of Alsace, and is paraded every year through the streets of the city. More than 1,600 inhabitants take part in this mile-long religious procession, many dressed as medieval knights or crusaders.

Other religious landmarks and museums include the Church of Our Lady, English Convent, Jerusalem Church, St. Trudo's Abbey, Ten Wijngaerde Béguinage ({{langx|nl|Begijnhof}}), and Ter Doest Abbey ({{langx|nl|Abdij Ter Doest}}) in Lissewege.

The sub-municipality (or deelgemeente) and former parish of Bruges Sint-Andries has its own patron saint Andrew the Apostle{{cite web|url=http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-andrew-the-apostle|title=Blog Archive » Saint Andrew the Apostle|date=27 February 2009|publisher=SQPN.com|access-date=20 February 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://emmausparochie.be/emmausparochie/geschiedenis-van-de-parochie-sint-andreas-en-sint-anna-en-haar-kerk/|title=Geschiedenis van de parochie Sint-Andreas en Sint-Anna en haar kerk|date=31 May 2015 |access-date=13 December 2023}} to which the parish Church of St. Andrew & St. Anna is dedicated.

File:SANGUIS BRUGENSIS14 44.JPG|The annual procession of the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ, UNESCO heritage

File:Brugge Sint-Salvatorskerkhof zonder nummer - 174722 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg|St. Salvator's Cathedral

File:Church Of Our Lady Bruges.jpg|Church of Our Lady

File:Brugse belofte 1304 15-08-2010 10-11-40.jpg|Brugse Belofte procession in 2010

Bruges is a centre for education in West Flanders. Next to the several common primary and secondary schools, there are a few colleges, like the VIVES (a fusion of the former KHBO (Katholieke Hogeschool Brugge Oostende) and the KATHO (katholieke hogeschool) or the HOWEST ({{langx|nl|Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen}}).

Furthermore, the city is home to the College of Europe, a prestigious institution of postgraduate studies in European Economics, Law, and Politics, and of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), a Research and Training Institute{{cite web|url=http://www.unu.edu/system/centres.html|title=Training Centres and Programmes - United Nations University|first=United Nations|last=University}} of the United Nations University specialising in the comparative study of regional integration.

Between 1998 and 2016, Bruges hosted the start of the annual Tour of Flanders cycle race, held in April and one of the biggest sporting events in Belgium.

Football is also popular in Bruges; the city hosts two professional football teams, both of which play at the top level (Belgian First Division) Club Brugge K.V. are the current national champions, while the second team, Cercle Brugge K.S.V., was recently promoted to the first tier. Both teams play their home games at the Jan Breydel Stadium (30,000 seats) in Sint-Andries. There are plans for a new stadium for Club Brugge with about 45,000 seats in the north of the city, while the city council would renovate and reduce the capacity of the Jan Breydel Stadium for Cercle Brugge.{{cite web|url=https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nl/nieuws/lees/2015-10-22/het-nieuwe-stadion-van-club-brugge-krijgt-steeds-meer-vorm|title=Club Brugge krijgt schitterend nieuws in verband met nieuw stadion|date=22 October 2015}}

In 2000, Bruges was one of the eight host cities for the UEFA European Football Championship, co-hosted by Belgium and its neighbour the Netherlands.

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

File:Panoramio - V&A Dudush - Jan Breydel Stadion.jpg|Jan Breydel Stadium.

File:KHBO St-Michiels Brugge.jpg|The KHBO campus in Sint-Michiels.

{{Main|Notable people from Bruges}}

• Hendrik Conscience's The Lion of Flanders, or the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1836, {{langx|nl|De Leeuw van Vlaenderen, of de Slag der Gulden Sporen}}), is a historical-fiction novel based on the medieval Franco-Flemish War and the Battle of the Golden Spurs, both of which historically include Bruges.
• Ludwig Bemelmans' children's novel The Golden Basket (1936) tells the story of a family's visit to Bruges. In the novel, the two sisters stay at the Golden Basket hotel in Bruges with their father. On a visit to Bruges cathedral with the innkeeper's son, the sisters meet a dozen little schoolgirls, the first appearance of Bemelmans' best-known character, Madeline.{{notetag|Gillespie, John Thomas and Corinne J. Naden. 1996. The Newbery Companion: Booktalk and Related Materials for Newbery Medal and Honor Books (revised ed.). Libraries Unlimited (2001).}}{{Rp|86}}
• Bruges-la-Morte (1892), a short novel by the Belgian author Georges Rodenbach. The libretto of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera Die tote Stadt (1920) is based on this book.
• The detective stories of Belgian writer Pieter Aspe are situated in Bruges.
• Niccolò Rising (1986), the first volume of Dorothy Dunnett's eight-book series House of Niccolò, is largely set in Bruges. Other books in the series also have sections set in the Belgian city.
• L'Astrologue de Bruges ("The Astrologer of Bruges", 1994), a Belgian bande dessinée in the Yoko Tsuno comic series, is entirely set in both contemporary and 1545's Bruges.

• Fred Zinneman's The Nun's Story is a 1959 dramatic film starring Audrey Hepburn that is primarily set in Bruges.
• The Killer Is on the Phone (Italian: {{Lang|it|L'assassino... è al telefono}}) is a 1972 giallo film set in Bruges.
• The main antagonist of the Austin Powers film series, Dr. Evil, was raised in Bruges.
• The 2008 film In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, is set almost entirely in Bruges. Throughout the film, which was directed by British-Irish director Martin McDonagh, the city's major landmarks and history are mentioned repeatedly, as are the contrasted viewpoints of the two lead characters of the story.
• In 2014 Bollywood film PK, opening scenes involving Anushka Sharma and Sushant Singh Rajput (including song Chaar Kadam) are set in Bruges.
• The story of the Madonna of Bruges being removed by the Nazis and then returned is told in the fact-based 2014 movie The Monuments Men.
• The 2019 Hallmark movie Love, Romance & Chocolate, starring Lacey Chabert, takes place in Bruges.

Bruges has never formally ratified any twin towns and sister cities collaboration. In the 1950s, Bruges refused a jumelage with Nice, Nuremberg, Locarno and Venice that had been signed by a Belgian ambassador without consultation. The twinning between some of the former municipalities, merged with Bruges in 1971, was discontinued.

Bruges has had the following international contacts:

• {{flagicon|BEL}} Bastogne, Luxembourg, Belgium: After World War II and into the 1970s, Bruges, more specifically the Fire Brigade of Bruges, entertained friendly relations with Bastogne. Each year a free holiday was offered at the seaside in Zeebrugge, to children from the Nuts city.
• {{flagicon|DEU}} Arolsen, Hesse, Germany: From the 1950s until the 1980s, Bruges was the patron of the Belgian First Regiment of Horse Guards, quartered in Arolsen.
• {{flagicon|ESP}} Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain: Both towns having been made European Capital of Culture in 2002, Bruges had some exchanges organized with Salamanca.
• {{flagicon|BEL}} Mons, Hainaut, Belgium: In 2007, cultural and artistic cooperation between Mons and Bruges was inaugurated.
• {{flagicon|ESP}} Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain: On 29 January 2007, the mayors of Burgos and Bruges signed a declaration of intent about future cooperation on cultural, touristic and economic matters.

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

• Borsele
• Diksmuide
• Kortrijk
• Ostend
• Roeselare
• Terneuzen
• Tielt
• Veurne
• Vlissingen
• Ypres

{{div col end}}

{{NoteFoot|2}}

{{reflist|2}}

{{See also|Timeline of Bruges#Bibliography{{!}}Bibliography of the history of Bruges}}

• {{cite book|last=Murray|first=James M.|title=Bruges, Cradle of Capitalism 1280–1390|year=2005}}
• {{cite web|last=Sewell|first=Abby|title=Discover Belgium's Beautiful Medieval City|website=National Geographic Society|year=2018|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/europe/belgium/brugge-bruges-unesco-world-heritage-guide/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811035346/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/europe/belgium/brugge-bruges-unesco-world-heritage-guide/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 August 2018|format=video+text}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• {{Wikivoyage-inline}}
• {{Official website|https://bezoekers.brugge.be/en}} {{in lang|en}}
• {{Wikisource-inline|list=
• {{Cite EB9|wstitle=Bruges|volume=4|pages=395-396|short=x |noicon=x}}
• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Bruges|volume=4|pages=678-679 |short=x |noicon=x}}
• {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Bruges|year=1920|short=x |noicon=x}}

}}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Bruges

|North = North Sea

|Northeast = Knokke-Heist

|East = Damme

|Southeast = Beernem

|South = Oostkamp

|Southwest = Zedelgem

|West = Zuienkerke
Jabbeke

|Northwest = Blankenberge

}}

{{Populated places in Bruges}}

{{Municipalities in West Flanders}}

{{European Capital of Culture}}

{{World Heritage Sites in Belgium}}

{{Hanseatic League}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Municipalities of West Flanders

Category:Port cities and towns in Belgium

Category:Port cities and towns of the North Sea

Category:Provincial capitals of Flanders

Category:Trading posts of the Hanseatic League

Category:World Heritage Sites in Belgium