Bruges

History

How the city came to be

Bruges lies where the coastal plain meets the sandy inland soils, and its waterways connected it to the North Sea. The official tourist office records that fortifications already stood here in the early ninth century and that the name Bruges appears in a document of 851; the Counts of Flanders then built up a centre of power around the Burg square. From the eleventh century, Flemish cloth production and maritime trade brought the city prosperity; in the late thirteenth century Italian merchants set up trading bases here, and in the fourteenth century Bruges became a leading commercial centre of north-west Europe. The Belfry, merchant buildings, churches and the canal network are all tied to that prosperity. From the late fifteenth century, the court and merchants shifted their focus elsewhere and the sea channel silted up, among other factors, and the city's trading status declined. Modern restoration and heritage protection preserved the old street grid while also retaining later alterations such as Neo-Gothic work. In 2000 the historic centre of Bruges was inscribed as a World Heritage Site; as you explore, distinguish genuine medieval remains from cityscapes restored later.

1. Early 9th centuryFortifications take shape near the Burg square.
2. 851Bruges is mentioned in a document.
3. 11th centuryThe Flemish cloth trade drives growth.
4. Late 13th centuryItalian merchants use Bruges as a trading base.
5. 14th centuryBruges becomes a major commercial centre of north-west Europe.
6. Late 15th centuryIts trading and court status gradually declines.
7. At Belgian independence in 1830Bruges's economy is still relatively weak.
8. 2000The historic centre is inscribed as a World Heritage Site.