Square, Plaza sights in Bruges
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Markt
Bruges' nerve centre is the historic Markt, a large open square flanked by medieval-style buildings and bustling with horse-drawn carriages, open-air restaurants and camera-clicking tourists. Standing tall at its centre is a monument to Pieter De Coninck and Jan Breydel, the leaders of the Brugse Metten, and lording over everything is the fabulous belfry.
Most of the gabled guildhalls edging the Markt are not original. Notable at Markt 16 is Craenenburg café; in this building the Hapsburg heir Maximilian of Austria was imprisoned by the leaders of the city in 1488 after attempting to restrict their privileges. When Maximilian later became emperor, he took revenge by direc…
reviewed
-
B
Burg
Smaller but arguably more impressive than the Markt is the adjoining Burg. For more than five centuries the former palace on this majestic site was the seat of the counts of Flanders. The St Donatian Cathedral also stood here until 1799, when religious zealots tore it down. These days the Burg contains the city's most appealing cluster of buildings, plus the contemporary Toyo Ito pavilion, a geometric bunker that sits in a pool of stagnant water opposite the city hall.
To some it creates an image of lightness, progress, transience and evolution; to others it's simply a form that gets the cold shoulder.
reviewed
-
C
Hof Arents
The tree-lined square at the rear of the Arentshuis is Hof Arents, a tranquil respite from the busy Dijver. Sit and contemplate four sculptures by Rik Poot entitled De Ruiters van de Apocalyps (Riders of the Apocalypse) before exiting the square to discover a tranquil canal lined with timber houses - one of the most picturesque nooks in Bruges. The canal is backed by the humped St Bonifaciusbrug.
Cross the bridge to notice a tiny window at the back of the Gruuthuse museum - according to local belief, it's Europe's smallest Gothic window.
reviewed
-
D
