"Brugge" a Brugge Travel Page by seagoingJLW

Around 2000 years ago, there was a Gallic-Roman settlement on the site of Brugge. Around 270, the Germans attacked the Flemish coastal plain for the first time although the Romans still had a military fortification here. Brugge was the most important fortification in the Flemish area when St. Eligius came to spread Christianity in 750.

About a hundred years later, trade started with Scandinavia. the name Brugge or Bruges comes from the old Norse Bryggja. The city was not plundered by the Norsemen, but became a center of oversease trade. the early middle age port was accessible from the seauntil around 1050.

The second area of occupation outside the Burg was close to the present day Steenstrat and the Oude Burg. the city grew fastest here until 1100. The two oldest parish churches in Brugge were at the edge of this district. they date from the tenth century.

In the eleventh century, Brugge expanded to become a commercial center for Europe. But during this period the sea silted up. A storm flood in 1134 changed the appearance of the coastal plain. A deep channel appeared, the Zwin, which then reached as far as the present day Damme. The city remained linked to the sea until the 15th century by a canal from the Zwin to Brugge.

At the time Flanders was one of the most urbanized areas in Europe. From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Brugge had between 40,000 and 45,000 inhabitants. There were already real bankers in operation, both Brugge natives and Italians.

Differences in income between tradesmen and patricians were large and caused violent revolts (1280 and 1436-1438.) they were roughly suppressed.

In the 1302 uprising the ordinary people took the side of the Flemish Count against the French king and the propertied classes. The struggle resulted in a victory for the Flemish in the Battle of the Golden Spurs on July 11, 1302, which is now the feast day for the Flemish community in Belgium.

Myriad 14th century crises ended with the dynastic merger of Flanders and Burgundy. The city became sumptuous and luxurious, all of which ended with the sudden death of Mari of Burgundy in 1482.

Brugge recovered in the 16th century, but lost its leading position to Antwerp. The split from the Netherlands in 1584 led to the final decline of Brugge.

In European literature, Brugge was made famous by the French language novel <i>Bruges la Morte</i> by Georges Rodenbach.