The Probert Encyclopaedia of Places of the World

BRUGES

Bruges (Brugge) is the capital of west Flanders, Belgium. Bruges is an old walled city and was an important railway and canal centre during the 19th century, the chief canal being the ship canal connecting it with the North Sea at Zeabrugge. Bruges (meaning bridges) is so named because it has over fifty bridges, all formerly opening for the passage of ships. In the 13th and 14th centuries it was one of the chief commercial places in Europe, and an important member of the Hanseatic League. Towards the end of the 15th century it began to decline.
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