Visiting Bruges is like walking through a series of postcards. An old city of medieval buildings, soaring brick towers, cobblestone and scenic canals that surround and cut through it, it’s hard not to take a shot that couldn’t be stamped and mailed.
What else could I expect from a town that stopped modernizing when the Renaissance came along and it decided, “not for us.” A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bruges’ city center is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. What I like about this is that unlike most things I’ve seen from that time period, which is usually a building or the ruins of buildings is that it’s an entire city with functioning businesses, inns, pubs and even a brewery, housed in buildings that have stood for centuries.
Of Bruges’ sites the best to start with is Belfort, an 83 meter high bell tower that serenades the city every 15 minutes with a music box-like tune. Built in 1280 as a show of the city’s wealth Belfort’s position on The Market (Markt) made it my ground zero for sightseeing.
It’s not the tallest building in Bruges, that honor goes to the Church of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk) which has the second tallest brickwork tower in Europe, but it’s the highest tower I could climb. Making my way up 366 narrow, twisting stairs rewarded me with an unobstructed, panoramic view of Bruges and the chance to hear the bell tower play a melody right under the bells. Thankfully I already have tinnitus so it wasn’t a bother.
Back at the Market’s ground level there are many sightseeing tour options available such as buses, horse-drawn carriages and canal boat rides but I decided to take in Bruges mainly on foot. End to end I could traverse the historic center in half an hour and with the free map the inn gave me I was able to visit the sights I wanted to see and spend as much time as I liked to admire and photograph the city. That said, the short canal boat ride was also pleasant, informative and allowed me to see Bruges from a different perspective I’d otherwise have been unable to get.
Stadhuis
To see the most sites in an afternoon I recommend following the canal behind The Burg south. The Burg square is home of Stadhuis and Basilica of the Holy Blood (Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed), a compact gold-trimmed black Gothic chapel almost hidden away in corner beside Stadhuis. The interior of the basilica is colorfully painted from floor to ceiling. The chapel is named “Basilica of the Holy Blood” because they claim to possess a vial of Christ’s blood and there is a small museum room showing things they’ve hidden it in over the years along with other church relics.
Along the way I was able to get good canal photos including at Rozenhoedkaai, one of the most famous views of Bruges. (It has the hotel from In Bruges) It also took me by some great medieval architecture such as the Gruuthuse Museum mansion, the Church of Our Lady who’s other claim to fame is Madonna and Child, Michelangelo’s only work to leave Italy in his lifetime. Living in Italy seeing one of Michelangelo’s works probably isn’t as exciting as it would be elsewhere, but the sculpture is quite beautiful and worth the slight detour. I was not able to get close to it and the lighting inside the church was whatever came through the windows so I had to use a longer camera lens to view it in detail.
Across the street from the church is Old St. John’s Hospital which opened in the 11th century and was in operation until 1976. It now houses an art gallery but maintains the original almost 1,000 year old building.
Towards the southern end of the city center is a large park and the Beguinage, a white-washed former nunnery beside a swan-filled section of canal. After seeing all that I toured De Halve Maan Brewery, the last working brewery in Bruges. De Halve Maan has been in operation since 1564 and at this site since 1856. Their tour showed me how Belgian beer was made and how it’s still being made then ended with a taste of the end product.
While the medieval is the main draw, as De Halve Maan showed it’s not entirely alone. Amongst the Brick Gothic I found a small gold-trimmed Renaissance government building besides the grand city hall and the odd building about town that looks like it was placed there, or just modernized, up into the 1800s. The most notable of these newer works is the Provincial Court (Provinciaal Hof), a Gothic Revival hall built from 1887-1921 on the Market Square by the Belfry. Provinciaal Hof was built to look older than it is, but City Hall (Stadhuis) is the real deal. I initially mistook it for a church because of the tall stained glass windows and spires, but this hall has been Bruges’ seat of government since 1376. (Despite that, city proclamations are still carried out from the Belfry) Also one of the numerous local museums it houses art and original city documents.
One of the city’s unique architectural quirks is its many “Ave Maria” statues. Found in niches on buildings and other odd spots, 500 statues of the Virgin are scattered throughout the town, making a scavenger hunt for as many of these icons as possible a way to kill time just in case you somehow run out of things to see or do.
Not far from Bruges is the Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum in Oostende, which contains hours of well-preserved tunnels, trenches and bunkers from both World Wars. Many bunkers are outfitted as if their operators stepped out for a smoke. An hour travel away is Ypres, the site of a major World War I battle. If you’ve ever seen VFW or American Legion members selling red poppies, Ypres is the reason. Seeing the red poppies of Flanders, where Ypres is located, inspired Canadian surgeon Lt. Col. John McCrae to write the poem, “In Flanders Field” after the battle which made them a symbol of remembrance. Many local tour companies do day trips out of Bruges but its best to book several weeks ahead to guarantee a seat.
I’ve written about but a very few of Bruges’ many attractions and curios as there is enough to fill a book. To learn more about what Bruges has to offer I recommend visiting the city’s website www.visitbruges.be and taking the time to search the internet or your local library to find out what may interest or even surprise you.
