Bruges Attractions

With its wealth of interesting old buildings and its canals Bruges still retains a medieval air, more so perhaps than anywhere else in Belgium. Anyone taking a walk through the narrow streets or a boat trip on the canals falls immediately under its spell, charmed by the atmosphere of what is for many the most delightful of all the cities of Flanders. This together with its remarkable state of preservation makes Bruges a tourist destination almost without rival in Europe.

The style of the medieval brick houses is thoroughly distinctive. Above many of the windows are recessed shallow arches, and the windows themselves are often found bracketed together by a continuous cill running the length of the frontage.

Equally distinctive of Bruges are the godshuizen, almshouses for the elderly and infirm paid for by the guilds or in some cases prosperous burghers. Most are groups of whitewashed brick houses with a communal entrance gate and janitor's window. Examples can be seen in e.g. Gloeribusstraat, Moerstraat, Zwarte Leertouwersstraat, Sint-Katelijnstraat and Nieuwe Gentweg.

The Folklore Museum, the Kant Centre (Lace Centre) and the Pelicaanhuis are also former godshuizen.

The loveliness of Bruges today is the result of a massive program of restoration. The first and most pressing problem was to deal with the sewage and other effluent which flowed untreated into the canals, creating a smell obnoxious enough to spoil any stay.

Thanks to the construction of a proper sewage system and efficient purification plant the canals are now clean and free of smell. The task of saving the houses from crumbling into ruin also called for radical measures. Most of the 8,000 buildings in the city center were taken into civic ownership, responsibility for their restoration being placed on the shoulders of the municipal authorities. Few houses now remain in private hands, the vast majority being leased to their occupants.

Because the center of Bruges is comparatively small, even those with only a day to spend looking around can expect to take away a good idea of all the major sights. Essential viewing includes the Markt with the Belfry, the Burg and Stadhuis, Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk, the Memling Museum, the picturesque Minnewater, and the Béguinage. A trip on the grachten is a never-to- be-forgotten experience.

Having two days available for sightseeing allows the pleasures of the city to be complemented by those of its museums, with visits to, for example, the Gruuthusemuseum, the Groeninge Museum, the Chapel of the Holy Blood, or any of several more.

Running between the cathedral and the Markt, Steenstraat with its row of typical Bruges gable gildehuizen is one of the loveliest of the city's streets.

The tours of the grachten last half an hour, passing under bridges so low that passengers must duck their heads and with one delightful view following another. Boats leave from the landing stages at Huidenvetterplaats and Rozenhoedkaai.

West of the cathedral lies the large square known as t'Zand and a short distance north, the Blindenkapel. Erected in the 14th C. the chapel boasts a magnificent pulpit (1659) and a gilded statue of Our Lady of the Blind.

About halfway along towards the Markt Steenstraat opens onto Simon Stevinplein, named after the mathematician Stevinus, born in Bruges in 1548 and sometime adviser to Maurice of Nassau. Branching off from the south side of the square is Oude Burg, at the near end of which stands the Hof van Watervliet, a complex of restored old buildings dating from the 16th C. Over the years the Hof's illustrious residents have included Erasmus of Rotterdam and the exiled Charles II.

The 14th C. Smedenpoort was medieval Bruges's southwest town gate. The bell would be rung when the gate was to be shut.

The Bruges Tourist Office organizes minibus tours but it is more fun to take one of the horse-drawn carriages starting from the Burg. Throughout July and August guided walks set out daily at 3 p.m. from in front of the tourist office in the Burg (and at other times by arrangement).

Following the moat south from the Smedenpoort leads to the 14th C. Waterhuis on which the town used to rely for its water supplies.