Bruges Attractions

HACER Archeological Museum 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. Full Text     Brangwyn Museum 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. Full Text     Groeninge Museum 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. Full Text     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. Full Text     Memling Museum 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. Full Text     Town Hall Gothic Chamber 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. Full Text

 

Bruges Monuments

The Beguinage 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. Full Text     The Belfry and the Cloth Hall 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. Full Text     The Canals and the Old Harbour 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. Full Text     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'. Full Text     The Gruuthuse House and Museum 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. Full Text     The Market 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.. Full Text     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'. Full Text     The St Johns Hhospital 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.. Full Text     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. Full Text

Bruges Churchs and Cathedrals

Our Ladys Church 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. Full Text     The Chapel of the Holy Blood 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. Full Text     The Jerusalem Church 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. Full Text     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. Full Text