Bruges (in French or Brugge in Dutch), is the capital of the province of West Flanders in present-day Flanders, the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is one of Europe's most important landmarks as the city has hardly changed since the Middle Ages.
Julius Caesar's built the first fortifications in the 1st century BC to protect the coast against pirates. Next came the Franks around the 4th century and Viking raids in the 9th century prompted Baldwin I, Count of Flanders to reinforce the Roman fortifications. It is at around this time that coins appeared bearing for the first time the name Bryggia.
Bruges got its city charter on July 27, 1128 and built itself new walls and canals. After decades of silt had separated the city from the coast, a storm in 1134 reconnected the city with the sea via the Zwin, a natural channel which led to Damme a city which then became Bruge's commercial satellite.
In the twelfth century the city flourished as wool and cloth business' prospered. The city reached out to England and Scotland to trade wool and trade grew with the Hanseatic league. In 1277 the city started trading with Genovese fleets who bought spices from the east and sophisticated banking techniques. By the fourteenth century Bruges was the financial centre of the Low Countries.
Bruges' history, however, was not without it's trials and tribulations and several uprisings were ruthlessly suppressed. two leaders of note are Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninc who rose up against the French (along with the Count of Flanders) and defeated them at the famous Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. Their statues stand proudly in the central market.
An important figure in the development of the city's status as a cultural centre was Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. He attracted talent (commercial as well as artistic) from around Europe and the Flemish school of artists is well known to this day. William Caxton printed the first book in English here and Edward IV and Richard III of England were also exiled here for a time.
However, in 1500 the Zwin channel began to silt and Antwerp overtook Bruges as the commercial powerhouse of the Low Countries. A decline gradually set in despite efforts to the contrary and even the launch of the lace industry in the seventeenth century could not halt the slide into impoverished obscurity. George Rodenbach immortalised the city in his novel Bruges la Morte.
However the city's beautiful mediaeval architecture made it one of the world's first tourist destinations towards the end of of the nineteenth century and in the latter half of the twentieth century it's fortunes grew further. Ironically it was the port of Zeebrugge (built by the Germans during World War I to house their U boats) that aided this economic recovery. The port was expanded in the 70s and 80s to allow increased numbers of ferries to dock, and these bought tourists on a large scale. The city of Bruges was named the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2002.
Bruges still has many beautiful medieval buildings, including the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady), whose brick spire - at 122m - is Europe's highest brick tower/building. The 13th-century Belfort, housing a municipal Carillion comprising 47 bells is also another architectural masterpiece from the Middle Ages.
Other notable buildings in Bruges include the Beguinage, the Heilig Bloed Basiliek (the Basilica of the Holy Blood), the modern Concert Hall and the St-John Hospital. The historic centre of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bruges also has a very fine collection of medieval and early modern art, including the world-famous collection of Flemish Primitives. Various masters, such as Hans Memling and Jan van Eyck, lived and worked in Bruges.
