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Brugge, Belgium I visited Brugge during a snow storm, so my photos and the account of my visit are not very good. When I get better photos in the spring, I will add them then. Brugge represents the flowering of commerce and culture in the Middle Ages. The city had the good fortune to be linked with the North Sea by a navigable waterway. Disaster struck when the link with the sea silted up in the 15th century. Little has changed over the last 500 years in this city of interlaced canals, making it a living museum in the best possible sense. Brugge is in far western Belgium, not many miles from the coast of the North Sea. |
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At the heart of old Brugge is the Belfry. It dominates the Market Square. Even though it was very cold and snowing and blowing, there were still some hardy tourists, like myself, walking and riding the streets of Brugge. |
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Part of the Market Square, just in front of the Belfry. |
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This photo was taken on April 7. It was still very cold - you cansee all of the coats. But, this gives a view of the main square in Brugge as it would look on a nice, warm, sunny day. |
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As you can see, the Market Square is quite large. Here you see more buildings that form the border of the Square. |
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More buildings that border the Square. |
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Another square photo. |
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Another very important square, rather close to the larger Market Square, is the Burg Square. This "magical" medieval square is the focal point of ancient Brugge. The Stadhuis (Town Hall), shown here, dates from the 14th century. |
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This photo was taken on April 7. It is the Stadhuis shown just above but at a time when it was not snowing. |
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Buildings that border the Burg. |
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Another view of the same building. |
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I believe this is Simon Stevin Square. |
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The other side of Simon Stevin Square with the Basilica of the Holy Blood in the background. A vial thought to contain drops of Christ's blood is displayed in the basilica every Friday. |
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A Brugge street scene. |
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Another Brugge street scene. |
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Small square in Brugge. |
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Brugge is FILLED with lace shops. This is one of the many. Here, Denise is sitting in front of the shop doing some hand work. She is one of 150 women who do this work for this one shop. The name of the shop is Irma. |
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The Church of Our Lady is important for two reasons. First, its 381-foot spire is the tallest brick spire in the world. Second, it contains Michelangelo's Madonna and Child shown here. It is one of the very few works of Michelangelo outside of Italy. |
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As I have mentioned on previous pages, many of the sites we visit away from Maastricht must be reached through Liege, Belgium. On my way back to Maastricht from Brugge, I was taken by the scene in this photo. You can see the large snow flakes, the snow-covered tracks, and the station sign, Liege-Guillemins. I was glad to get back to Maastricht after a cold, snowy day of traveling and touring. |