Bruges

The city of Brugge is the capital of the northwestern province of West-Vlaanderen in Belgium. Originally founded as landing on the Zwijn estuary, it was named for a Roman bridge over the Reie River and known as a settlement since the seventh century. St. Eloi, bishop of Noyon-Tournai converted the town to Christianity, and the first counts of Flanders built a castle here in the9th century to guard against Norman invaders. It reached its height of commercial greatness in the 14th century, as one of the most important members of the Hanseatic League of trading cities. It remained rich an powerful as the site of the court of the dukes of Burgundy, rulers of Flanders, and the artistic center of the Flemish school of painting, until the religious and political turmoil of the 16th century brought about its decline. It revived with the construction ten miles away of the North Sea port of Zerbrugge and the opening in 1907 of a canal linking it to the port. It is famed for its medieval architecture and hanseatic buildings, and enjoys a thriving tourist industry in the 20th and 21st centuries. The 2003 population estimate was around 117,200.