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BRUGES ATTRACTIONS |
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| WELCOME TO BRUGES
ATTRACTIONS SECTION. HERE YOU WILL FIND
INFORMATION, HISTORY AND PICTURES OF THE
CITY, THE MARKET, MUSEUMS, MONUMENTS,
CATHEDRALS, CHURCHES, DISCOS, CLUBS AND
PUBS IN BRUGES,
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BRUGES MUSEUMS |
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Archeological Museum
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These houses contain
a wide variety of material witnesses to Bruges’
past discovered during excavations. They include
pottery, glass, leather, metal, wood and stone
items, and a series of murals.
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Brangwyn Museum
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The Arents House or
Brangwyn Museum is a fine, late-18th-century
townhouse located opposite the coach-house at
the entrance to a picturesque garden.
The coach-house contains old carriages and
sledges.
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Groeninge Museum
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The Groeninge Museum
is also called 'The city museum of Fine Arts'.
The collection was already started in the
beginning of the 18th century, but the building
itself is recent and dates from 1929-1930.
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Gruuthuse Museum |
This most diverse of
all the Bruges Museums is situated in the 'House
of Gruuthuse' which belonged in the late Middle-Ages
to the family Van Brugghe-van der Aa, a.k.a the
lords of 'Gruuthuse'. This family owned the
monopoly of 'Gruut' selling.
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Memling Museum
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This museum is part
of the St.John's Hospital complex. Inside, the
old hospital infirmary can be visited as well as
the old pharmacy. In the former chapel of the
Hospital six paintings by Hans Memling are
exposed.
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Town Hall Gothic Chamber
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Bruges Town Hall,
built between 1376 and 1420 is one of the oldest
in the Low Countries. A ceremonial staircase
leads from the entrance hall to the first floor,
where visitors can view the Gothic Chamber.
This former council chamber continues to play an
important part in the life of the city. The
wooden, polychrome ceiling is decorated with a
profusion of late-mediaeval carving.
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BRUGES MONUMENTS |
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The Beguinage
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Just behind the
Minnewater lies the Beguinage 'De Wijngaard' (the
Vineyard). It is one of those typical areas in Bruges
where one can find more peace and quiet than in the
sometimes busy and overcrowded streets of the town
center. The Beguinage is a group of houses around a
little garden covered with large poplar trees. It was
here that during the last seven centuries lived the
beguines of Bruges.
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The Belfry and the Cloth Hall
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The Market square is
dominated by the cloth hall and the 83 meter high Belfry
tower, one of the symbols of the city. The original
cloth hall and tower date from 1240. The first tower,
however, was destroyed by fire in 1280. At the time of
the fire the four wings of the cloth hall already
existed, as well as the two square segments of the
belfry. The present octagonal lantern was added to the
tower between 1482 en 1486.
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The Canals and the Old Harbour
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Because of its canals
Bruges is often called 'The Venice of the North'. The
water situation in both cities was, however, very
different. Venice was founded on islands in a lagoon of
the Adriatic sea. Bruges lies deeper inland ; at least
now, because in the five centuries B.C the Flemish
coastline must have been flooded several times by the
North Sea.
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The Godshuizen |
The visitors who take the
time to walk through the beautiful city of Bruges will
notice after a while that a certain type of houses can
be seen quite often in the city. Those houses are mostly
late medieval-looking and bear a name and a year on the
outside wall. These houses are called 'Godshuizen'.
Literally translated this would mean 'Houses of God'.
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The Gruuthuse House and Museum
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The Gruuthuse house and
museum is situated behind the Our Lady's church. This
impressive city mansion belonged to one of the richest
families of the medieval city. It has now been
transformed into the archeological city museum of
Bruges.
The name already explains why the Gruuthuse family was
so important. The old Flemish word 'gruut' means :
peeled barley or wheat.
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The Market
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The central location of
the Market square indicates that this was the medieval
heart of the city. At least, the commercial medieval
heart, because the center of the city administration was
found on the nearby 'Burg' square.
The market place (Grote Markt) is free from traffic
since October 1996. It has been completely refurbished
and is now one of the most attractive parts of the city..
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The Minnewater |
For most visitors the
Minnewater and its lovely park are the entrance to the
beautiful city of Bruges. The Minnewater is a canalized
lake. From the bridge (1740) one can already enjoy a
nice panoramic view over the town. Because of the
idyllic surroundings it is mostly referred to as 'the
lake of Love', the Dutch word 'Minne' meaning 'love'.
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The St Johns Hhospital
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In front of Our Lady's
church stands the large complex of the medieval St.
John's hospital, one of the oldest still existing
hospitals in Europe. In 1978 it lost its function as
hospital and harbors now the Memling museum, the
hospital museum and the old pharmacy.
The oldest known document with rules for the hospital
dates from 1188..
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The Town Hall and the Burg Square |
Bruges is a city with two
town squares. The largest one is the Market, the
commercial heart of medieval Bruges. The second square
is called the 'Burg'. Here was, and still is, the heart
of the administrative Bruges.
It was here that Count Baldwin I had a fortified castle
built to protect the area against the ramping Normans
and Vikings.
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BRUGES CHURCHES |
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Our Ladys Church
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When approaching Bruges,
one can already see from afar the highest tower in the
city, the tower of Our Lady's Church. Although this
church is not the most important one on the religious
level (St Salvator's church is) it certainly attracts
most visitors because of its medieval character and the
important works of art that can be admired here.
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The Chapel of the Holy Blood
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The chapel of the Holy
Blood is actually a double chapel which can be visited
on the 'Burg' square in Bruges. It was first constructed
in the 12th century and promoted to the rank of Basilica
in 1923. One can enter the church on the first floor
where the Holy Blood is kept via the 'Steeghere' which
is a beautifully decorated façade behind which a
staircase leads to the first floor.
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The Jerusalem Church
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The Jerusalem church has
preserved its original style almost completely, which is
quite rare in Belgium. Furthermore, the church is still
privately owned. The church belonged to the Adornes
family, a family of merchants who came from Genoa in
Italy to the 13th century Bruges. Their descendants
still own the Jerusalem church today.
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BRUGES CATHEDRALS |
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The Saint Salvator Cathedral |
The city of Bruges has
been beautifully preserved and charms its visitors by
its medieval character. Of course, not every building
has been left untouched through the course of the
centuries. Very often the present buildings have
undergone numerous changes and renovations throughout
their history.
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