Bruges Belgium

January 28, 2020

Bruges Belgium

***Note: This blog first appeared on my Caris Roane blog in August, 2017

Here is one of the prettiest medieval cities in Europe. The word Bruges means 'bridges' which is a sensible name for a city with over eighty bridges crossing dozens of canals. I couldn’t resist doing a brief look at Bruges because of my general fascination with canals and living near all that water. Yes, I do think my interest is partly because I live in the desert. Water anywhere becomes intriguing, lol!

Bruges Belgium Funfacts (Source) (Source):

· Bruges is one of the most-visited medieval cities in the world.

· Belgium is a Western European country of 11,787 square miles and is bordered by France, the Netherlands, the North Sea, Germany and Luxembourg. It has 11 million people: 59 % Dutch speaking Flemish and the rest are mostly the French speaking Walloon people.

· With 470 castles, Belgium has more castles per square inch than any other country, 50 of which are in Bruges.

· Bruges means ‘bridges’ of which there are 80 that crisscross the numerous canals.

· Bruges is famous for its chocolates. There are approximately 50 chocolatiers in Bruges, but for the real experience, make sure the sign in the window says handmade.

· In the Middle Ages, Bruges was considered the wealthiest city in Europe.

· Education is paramount in Belgium. It’s illegal to leave school before the age of 18. The city of Bruges has several colleges and two acclaimed universities.

· This is fascinating: “Belgian’s superhighway system, which stretches out to Bruges, is the only man-made structure on Earth that you can see from the moon. It’s thanks to the large lamp posts lining the network that it’s visible at night from that far away.” (Source)

· Besides being known for beer and chocolate, Bruges is also famous for its luxurious lace made from local flax flowers.