The very beginning of Bruges

If you are looking for written history on Bruges, you will find out that there is nothing to find from before 1280.

The Belfry, which was built in 1240 housed the city archives. But a big fire in 1280 destroyed the mayor part of the building, so all archives up until then were lost. This is why it’s so difficult to reconstruct the history before that time. Everything we know from before 1280 has come from documents found throughout Europe.

Actually, I learned in my lessons for city guide that there was a settlement somewhere in the 100’s in the area of Bruges, it lasted for 200 years, but then the mystery begins. There is a gap of 500 years from that moment on. Strange, no? How can you lose 500 years of history? If nothing is written down, nothing will pass on. Only through tales, but those aren’t the most reliable. People like to exaggerate…

But, it is a fact that in 863 Baldwin I married Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald. (I always found those names strange… He was bald, ok, that’s so special? But in this case, “the Bald” refers to the fact he had no possessions in the beginning.) Charles the Bald required land, had a daughter Judith. At the age of 17 she already was a widow… twice! Charles the Bald wanted to her to marry “favorable” again. Judith wasn’t too keen on this, so in 861 she eloped with the love of her life, Baldwin.
“Dad” wasn’t so happy on this, he had them excommunicated by some bishops but Judith and Baldwin had this annulled by the pope (Nicolas I) and he also reconciled them.

They married in 863 and Charles assigned the area of Flanders to Baldwin, knowing the area was insignificant. But, Baldwin was a clever man and ruler. He stopped the Viking raids and built fortifications in surrounding settlements.

This later became the first cathedral of Bruges. In 1799 Napoleon sold the cathedral public and it was taken down.

You can still visit the foundations of the cathedral, together with some artifacts found during the excavations. Just go in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, ask the person at the reception if it’s possible to visit the basement (not the creepy one, but the lower floor). If there’s nothing going on at that moment (party, wedding…) you can go downstairs. This will cost you nothing! Yep, it’s for free!

Peerdenbrug (The Horse Bridge)

I'm going to tell you about a place we pass by in the walks...

The “Peerdenbrug”, translated to "horse bridge", is the one we cross when we leave Charlie Rockets hostel, just before the first stop at the window with the most famous dog of Bruges (Fidel). From this bridge you get a wonderful view left and right when standing on it.
Here you see the “Groenerei” –that’s the name of the canal. If you look in the direction of the center (right if you’re coming from Charlie Rockets) you can see the “Meebrug” a little bit further on.

 

Peerdenbrug, picture taken from the Meebrug (c) Andy Borgonjon

 

It is on the Meebrug the scene with the midgets in it from the movie 'In Bruges' was shot.

 

 

The first time the Peerdenbrug was mentioned in history was in 1392! It was around that time the district on the other side of the canal arose and people had to cross the water to get access to the ‘old’ centre of the city. With this bridge, and the Meebrug, it was possible to do so.

The stone bridges you see today weren’t constructed until 1642. Before that time they were wooden bridges.

Next to the Peerdenbrug, there was a drinking well for the horses, but people in the neighbourhood didn’t want to have it there, so in 1862 it was removed. Due to the stationed horses at the well, the bridge got its name.

If you ask me about a nice or favourite place to go, this is one of them. Off the beaten track of tourists, but still very close to the centre. And while you only have to walk a few minutes when at the Burg square, this is not so known by tourists. You have an advantage here.

 

Many painters found this lovely bridge, as you can see by the paintings I added with this text.

 

Go see it, enjoy one of the most beautiful places ‘in Bruges’.

Christmas "in Bruges"

All across Europe Christmas markets are being set up in the period of mid-november until mid-january. Of course, also in Bruges.
Bruges has a cozy market, which is spread between the Market square, the Simon Stevinplein and Walplein. On these squares you can find wooden stalls which hold all different kinds of “Christmas goods”. Mulled wine (Glühwein), hot chocolate, waffles, gin, candles, scarfs… you name it, all real Christmas stuff. The stalls opens at November 22^nd until January 2^nd 2014 and will be open on daily basis from 11am.
Maybe I’m sounding a little synical, but for a real Christmas market you should visit Germany. There you can find the original ones. In Belgium (generally) this kind of market is reduced to different food and drink stands, several stalls with clothing (wool) and other cheesy stuff.

But, if you’re visiting Bruges this is a nice bonus. The ambiance on the market itself is jovial. In weekends it can be a little crowded, so if you want to walk without bumping into someone every second best to avoid it during these days.

Spread throughout the city you have some special events during this period. I already told you about the ice festival. The theme this year is “Frozen”, the new Disney movie. (It’s an annual festival.) This will surely attract many children. And I must admit that the artists always make wonderful sculptures! But it’s kind of pricy…
At the site of the “Old St Jan” you have “Wintermoments with flowers”, where you can see a wonderful décor where flowers are made into art. This event will be open from November 22^nd until December 1^st. Only a very short period, you need to be in town just at that moment. You can find more information on http://wintermoments.website.rekad.be/ The entrée fee is €12.

Several events happen in November-December. You can find more information on this on the In-Uit site of Bruges http://www.bruggeplus.be/en/ (tourist office at the red brick concert building on ‘t Zand).

There is one I found which could be fun to do. The smallest guild of city guides (S-wan) is organizing a guided walk on the theme “Christmas symbolism” on December 21^st. Of course this will be in Dutch… So a little treat for the Dutch speaking followers on this blog. It’s €7 to take part of the walk, more information on http://www.s-wan.be

In the center of the Christmas market at the Market square you’ll find an ice rink. There you can go ice skating. I tried to find prices, but unfortunately I didn’t find any yet. The site which should tell this isn’t online (yet). But you can look it up in a couple of days on the following site: http://www.winterinbrugge.be/
This is a fun thing to do with the kids. If you’re not such a hero on those knives, you can stay on the side (without skates off that slippery ice) with a nice warm drink and be a supporter for your children. An afternoon outside on the ice (or next to it J) in a wonderful environment.

The Market square of Bruges

The poll that was on last week gave you guy the possibility to choose which location you'd to know a little more about. The winner was the Market square. So let me tell you about this place !

This square is located in the center of Bruges and hard to miss. Most of the busses you take have a stop here. As I told you in a previous post, if you’re at the train station just take any bus that says “centrum” on the front sign of the bus and the 3^rd stop is the market square.

If you want to go on a horse carriage ride, this is where they start. Sometimes there is a huge queue before you can “embark” in a carriage. For those who want to see Bruges in this way, it’s €39. That’s per carriage, not per person. Up to 5 persons maximum can ride along. It’s a 30-35 minute ride which takes you pass the most known buildings in Bruges. A little word of warning must be added here. What they don’t tell you is they make a stop halfway, to let the horse rest, drink and eat. This stop takes + 15 minutes… Just so you know.

The market square has many beautiful buildings surrounding it. Talking about every building would be too much, so I’ll just stick to a short history on the square itself. I’ll tell more on the buildings in later posts.

If you are in Bruges on a Wednesday, know there is a market going on there are well. Different stalls with food can be found there. Best ribs! If you’re staying in a hostel, just get the ribs, buy fries, go back to the hostel and eat there. For a complete Belgian meal, drink a beer from the tap with it!

Right now (November) they’re building an ice ring on the market square. Starting second half of November until second half of January you can go ice skating there. The ring is surrounded with a cozy Christmas market. Mulled wine (Glühwein), hot chocolate, clothing,… are a few of the things the stalls offer.

The exact year of the first market on this place is not known, but it is sure in the 10^th century it was a place for trade for many people. The first international fair was in the 1200’s. The first hall for traders was erected around 1220, these were small wooden buildings on the south side of the square. In 1240 a bigger building with a wooden tower was built, but in 1280 a big fire destroyed this building, to be replaced by a stone building in 1291-1296 (the beginning of the Belfry).

Can you imagine there was a canal running on the east side of the square? Yes, they even built a “waterhall” over the canal, so traders could unload their cargo there. This building doesn’t exist anymore, it was demolished in 1787. Now you can find the post office and “Historium” there, amongst others.

If you look to the north side of the square, notice the buildings on the left of the small street (Geernaartstraat) are standing a little more to the front. That’s because until 1786 a church (St Christopher’s church) stood there.

In 1955-’56 the square was renovated and since then parking cars here is not allowed any more. But below you can find a "morphing" I made to show you what it looked like in 1956 and it'll change to a picture I took a few days ago. Just hit the play below.

Tip: you can find a lot of restaurants here, but you will pay a tourist price. Ok, you ate at the market square of Bruges, but trust me when I assure you there are many better and cheaper places where you can eat typical Belgian food. But on that, I’ll tell you more later.