Bruges

No evidence of a settlement where Bruges now stands is evident before the advent of Julius Caesar and his Roman army. The area was eventually claimed by the Franks in the 4th century and ran it as the country of Flanders and in the ninth century the Vikings invaded the area and the name of Briggie or port was first used and which later evolved into what is now known as Bruges.

In the early 12th Century Bruges received its first city charter and some years later a natural channel at the Zwin appeared as the result of a storm and this restored the city’s lost access to the sea. As the town grew it developed a successful wool making industry and the surpluses from this industry were soon collected and stored by the then Counts of Flanders. In the 13th century Flemish businessmen attempted to colonise the wool making industries that had arisen across the channel in England and Scotland. The merchants’ English contacts already exported Norman grain and wine to the area and in 1277 the city was visited by the first ships from Genoa, thereby turning Bruges into the main link for trade from the Mediterranean.

The Bourse, thought to be the first entity in the world that resembled a stock exchange opened in 1309 and by the end of the 14th century it had become the chief money making market of the lowland area. Beside this great wealth there was also a great deal of poverty and this resulted in dramatic social upheavals. Philip, Duke of Burgundy held court in Bruges, Lillie and Brussels in the 15th century and this brought in wealthy and influential people from all over Europe.

Prosperity and success faltered and by the 16th century Antwerp had become the commercial hub of the lowlands,  the lace industry began to grow in the 17th Century and England’s exiled King Charles the second set up his courte in Bruges for some years. In spite of these occurrences Bruges failed to prosper and its population had diminished by three quarters by the end of the nineteenth century. It is only in the last fifty years or so that the city has again become a prosperous and important European port and in 2002 Bruges was proclaimed a European capital of culture.