Paul and Judy are on the road again: Brugge / Bruges

Brugge (also Bruges - depends on your local language group), in the north-west of Belgium, is the capital and largest city in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It's population is about 120,000. Tourist numbers swell that total considerably.

In about 900 AD Baldwin II fortified Brugge against Norse (and other) attackers. The town grew and prospered as the town's spinners and weavers were regarded as the finest in the world. It became one of the most important cloth centres in Europe, with strong trading links with Britain.

In C15th Belgium was a part of the Duchy of Burgundy (eastern part of France). The Duke of Burgundy, Philip ("the Good") established his Court in Brugge (as well as Brussells). This drew artists, bankers and prominent personalities from all over Europe. The population of Brugge grew to at least 125,000 and perhaps up to 200,000 inhabitants in the early 1400s. New oil-painting techniques gained world renown and the first book in English ever to come from a printing press was published in Brugge by William Caxton.

When the river began to silt up in the 1490's Brugge's trade started to shift to Antwerp and its power and wealth declined.

It is sometimes refered to as "the Venice of the north" but other cities also clain that description. The city name is derived from the Dutch word meaning "bridge".

With our hosts Mark and Ines we made a day visit to Bruges from Langedem. The historic town was naturally very crowded with visitors, and in the central "market" square workmen were erecting stages and booths for a festival (we seemed to strike many of them during our holiday).

Brugge - here we come

Idyllic scene in Brugge

Street scene in Brugge

House with "water frontage" - in fact the river/canal goes beneath it!

A small section of the Begijnhof which is one of
many such alms houses in Belgium, northern France
and the Netherlands. They first houses began in13th
century and they provided a home for widows and older
unmarried women. The women could support themselves
from the sales of handicrafts. They were run by lay women.

In the Brugge Begijnhof

Characteristic house frontages and roofing gables

One of the many horse carriages taking tourists around the old city centre

"Straight from the horse's mouth" usually refers to
some hot news or gossip. Here it refers to water.
Judy and Ines splash about at the horse fountain.

Here are our fine fillies again.

Intricate signage and decoration on a building frontage.

Brugge streets were full of day tourists
(not us! we were visiting with a local!)

Belgium is a nation of breweries, so as a home-brewer
I was keen to investigate some of their famous products.
I joined a short tour of the old "Half Moon" brewery.

Brugse zotten beer (Bruges' fools) is the brewery's specialty

The people of Bruges are nicknamed "Brugse Zotten" (Brugge fools) because of an incident involving the Emperor Maximillian. He was in the city and the town folk were having some fun dressed in costumes and doing foolish things. The mayor asked the Emperor for funds to allow the building of a new lunatic asylum. The Emperor is reported to have said "Madmen? Lunatics? Since I got here I've seen nothing but lunatics. Lock the town gates - Brugge is a madhouse!"

Shiny new brewing vats in the brewery. So different from the old small vats.

Some of the old "museum pieces". In use until just a few years ago.

The coopers worked here making the kegs.

After the tour there was a chance to try the "Brugse zotten"

Belgium's breweries (about 150) make about 1150 original beers, covering the range of blonde & white beers through red, amber and on to dark beers. Some are "light" with less than 1% alcohol, and some are definitely "heavy" with up to 13% alcohol - that's about the same as wine, but the beer glasses are bigger than the wine glasses! Surprisingly, many of the beers have there own unique shape. There's incredible variety in shape and size. So to continue the "beer" theme, here are a few more pictures.

Kwak beer has a special glass in a wooden frame with handle.
You hold it by the handle and drink it quickly. When the wider,
upper part of the glass is emptied and you tilt it to get the rest in
the bulbous base, it rushes down at you and makes a "quacking"
sound, hence the name. You may also get it rushing all over your face.
It's a good trick to play on newcomers who don't know what's happening.

A part of the shelving along one wall of a specialty (local) beer
shop in Brugge. There are so many different beers and glasses.

This was unexpected. Special beer (and labelled glasses) commemorate
the World War 1 battlefield (slaughterhouse) at Passchendale.

Special paint job on this motor scooter. also has a back seat beer cooler.

Although it is important to the local culture and economy, Brugge has much more to offer than just beer. There's beautiful lace, wonderful Belgian chocolates, handmade sweets and various forms of confectionery, and delicious pastries. The old saying is "Travel broadens the mind". Stay too long here and you will also broaden your waistline.

I hope this really is made in Brugge, not Beijing

Hand made "artisan" confectionery. A treat to watch.

Just couldn't avoid the glare on the window.
Such beautiful. mouth-watering sweets.

Chocolates (Leonidas shops everywhere!) and sweets

That's covered beer, chocolate, sweets and lace. What's left? Must be history and scenery. Yes, plenty of that.

The river and canals of Brugge

An interesting pair of apartment buildings

Ines, Judy (almost camouflaged) and Mark head off through the gate

Tour boat glides along the canals of Brugge

Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk)
Beautiful large church from 13th to 15th centuryhas the 2nd tallest brick tower in the world.

Trapped at the water gate for the church. Oh darn, I dropped the
key in the water. Sorry girls! Still, they don't look too worried about it!

Cottage built onto the approach to a small bridge beside the church

Close up view of plaque beside cottage door

There's a lot to see from the canals

The Gruuthuse museum of fine arts

In the 13th century a well-connected family received Royal assent to levy taxes on "Gruut" (Gruit: a herb mix used in beer production). Even then, beer was produced in huge quantities as after fermentation it was much safer to drink than the bad river water. The family grew rich and built a large grain store house. In 15th century the owner converted it to this fine house, became "ennobled", changed the family name to recognise the house (he became "Louis de Gruuthuse") and prospered in many ways. They built a wing to connect the building to the "Our Lady" church. In 1596 King Phillip II of France bought the house, no doubt at a favourable price (the Spanish now rulled Belgium & Netherlands). In 1875 the house was bought by the city as a museum.

In the Gruuthuse courtyard

Gruuthuse - details above the entrance to courtyard

St Nepomuk - we've seen him on
many bridges throughout Europe.

Now for some decorative hotel and shop signs .....

The Cat appears to look up at the famous Belfry (or Belfort)

The Belfry (or Belfort) is a medieval bell tower in the historical centre of the city. It's one of the city's most visible features. In the early years it was the strongroom housing the treasury and the city records. It was also used to watch for dangers, especially fires. It stands above the old Market Hall in the central Market Square. It was built in 1240 and rebuilt in 1280 after a severe fire which destroyed the city archives. Over the centuries there have been alterations and repairs after lightning strikes etc.

In the 16th century a carillon was installed allowing bells to be played from a keyboard. The original set of 35 bells was reduced to 26 after a fire in 1741 but has now grown to 47. The bells total about 28 tonnes in weight and individually range from about 1 kg to about about 5 tonnes. They are played regularly.