Page 102 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Brussels Bruges Ghent & Antwerp

100  BEY OND BRUSSELS

Exploring Central Bruges was built of grey stone in 1662
in the Baroque style and boasts
Bruges developed around a 9th-century fortress, built to an ornate entrance.
defend the coast against the Vikings. Despite the vagaries of
successive invasions by the French, between the 14th and P Stadhuis
Burg 12. Map B3. Tel (050) 44
16th centuries, Bruges became one of northern Europe’s most 8711. Open 9:30am–5pm daily.
sophisticated cities. Today, it owes its pre-eminent position to Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec. &
the beauty of its historic centre, whose nar row cobbled lanes The intricately carved façade of
and meandering canals are lined by an ensemble of medieval the Stadhuis was completed in
build ings. These are mostly the legacy of the town’s heyday as 1376, but the niche statues are
a centre of the international cloth trade, which flourished for modern effigies of the counts
and countesses of Flanders.
200 years from the 13th century. During this golden age, These were added in the 1960s
Bruges’ merchants lavished their fortunes on fine mansions, to replace those destroyed by
churches and a set of civic buildings of such extravagance the French army over a century
that they were the wonder of northern Europe. before. The building is still used
as a town hall. It is also a
popular venue for weddings.
Inside, a staircase leads up
from the spacious foyer to the
beautiful Gothic Hall, which is
open to visitors year round.
This magnificent parliamentary
chamber was built around 1400.
The ceiling boasts some lavish
woodcarvings including 16
beautiful corbels (brackets)
bearing representations of the
seasons and the elements. A
series of paintings around the
hall was completed in 1895,
each portraying a key event in
the city’s history.
Next door to the Stadhuis
is the Brugse Vrije museum,
which houses a massive
wood, marble and alabaster
chimney designed by Lanceloot
Blondeel. The chimney is one
of the best sculptural works of
16th­century Flanders.

Bruges’ medieval buildings reflected in the Dijver R Heilig Bloed Basiliek
Burg 15. Map B3. Tel (050) 33 6792, 33
Getting Around 19th­century colonnades. Fish 3767. Open 9:30am–noon, 2–5pm daily.
The centre of Bruges is com­ is still sold here early each The Basilica of the Holy Blood
pact, and it is easi est to walk morning and business is brisk. holds one of the most sacred
around. However, the bus reliquaries in Europe. The
service is useful for getting from P The Burg basilica divides into two distinct
the railway sta tion to the centre. Map B3. sections, the lower part being
Half­hour boat trips along the This pleasant cobbled square a the evocative St Basil’s chapel
canals leave from several jetties. few metres from the Markt was with its plain stone­pillared
From March to November, boats once the political and religious entrance and arches. The upper
depart twice every hour. focus of Bruges. It is also the chapel was rebuilt in the 19th
site of the original fort around century after the French
The Vismarkt which the city grew. Some destroyed it in the 1790s. Here,
Braambergstraat. Map B3. of the most imposing civic brightly coloured decorations
Open 8am–1pm Tue–Sat. buildings are located here. The surround a silver tabernacle of
From the Burg, an attractive beautiful sandstone Stadhuis or 1611 which houses a sacred
arched path called the Alley town hall has a façade dating phial, supposed to contain a
of the Blind Donkey (Blinde from 1375 and is adorned with few drops of blood and water
Ezelstraat) leads to the open­air turrets and statues. In contrast, washed from the body of Christ
fish market with its elegant the Proostdij or Provost’s House by Joseph of Arimathea. The

100-101_EW_Brussels.indd 100 10/01/17 10:54 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm