The Small Fishmarket (3)

The situation now is as follows : de "Kleine Vismarkt" (the Small Fishmarket) has become the "Huidevettersplein" (the Tanners' Square) and the fishwives have disappeared.. A painter has replaced them and, when the weather allows, you can find him there, painting scenes and sites of Bruges in watercolours, and, naturally, selling them. The old cafés have become tea-rooms and restaurants where, from Easter till October, you can sit on the terrace. The café "in de Jacob" (in the Jacob) is now "den gouden karpel" (the Golden Carp).

Laat ik het eens hebben over een \'petite histoire\' uit het begin van de twintigste eeuw.  De grote geschiedenis van koningen, opstanden en oorlogen is belangrijk om weten, maar minstens zo belangrijk is de geschiedenis van de kleine man en zijn kleine voorvallen.
Wat nu het Huidevettersplein noemt was vroeger gekend onder de benaming \'Kleine Vismarkt\'.  Daar werd, zoals de benaming laat vermoeden, de kleine vis verhandeld door de visvrouwen.  De marktuitbating vroeger werd, zoals nu nog altijd gebeurt op markten, in huur gegeven aan marktmeesters.  Die pachters van de markt moesten, als de markt gedaan was, die schoonmaken.  Waarschijnlijk eerder ook al, maar zeker tussen 1900 en 1913 was de marktmeester van dienst een zekere François De Meulemeester.  Ik ben op die geschiedenis gestoten omdat ik vroeger eens de stamboom van mijn vrouw uitgeplozen heb.  Tot dertien generaties voor haar (ik spreek dan van de jaren 1650) woonde haar familie al in Brugge.  Die François de Meulemeester, afkomstig van Houtave, niet zo ver van Brugge, was de oom van de grootvader van mijn vrouw.
Deze foto van Flori Van Acker is genomen in 1905 en misschien is die manspersoon op de foto wel François De Meulemeester.  Deze foto is op metersgroot formaat tentoongesteld in de Volkskundig Museum.  Let op de benaming van het café \'in de Jacob estaminet\'.  De Meulemeester hield dit café open, samen met zijn vrouw en zijn vele kinderen.

With this photo,  I will be giving you a short historical side light. We are at the beginning of the 20th century. While it is important to know the grand historical involving concerning kings, revolts and wars, now and again, happenings on a smaller scale and concerning the ordinary man, prove to be just as important... within the overall scheme of everyday life.
What is now known as the Huidevettersplein (Tanners\' Square) was previously named \"de Kleine Vismarkt\" (the Small Fishmarket.) There,  as the name indicates, fish was being sold to the people of Bruges. The stalls were mainly operated by fishwives. Then, just as is still the practice now, the general administration, as well as the right to rent out space on the market was handled by a Market Master. At the closing of the market-day, the fishmongers had to clean the market. Between 1900 and 1913, and maybe even before that, the Market Masterer was a certain François De Meulemeester. I happened on the story while, some time ago, I did some research for my wife\'s family tree. Indeed, her ancestors have lived in Bruges as long as thirteen generations ago (read : the year 1650). This François De Meulemeester, who was from Houtave, not so far away from Bruges, was the uncle of my wife\'s grandfather. This is a photo of Flori Van Acker, taken in 1905, and the man in the picture is thought to be François De Meulemeester. A meter-sized reproduction of this photo hangs in the Volkskundig Museum. Check the name of the café \"in the Jacob estaminet\" : François De Meulemeester was the owner of the café and this is where he and his wife, and their numerous children, worked and lived.

 
A look at the Minnewater Castle and the adjoining park, as seen from the Minnewater bridge. The castle is \"only\" 109 years old. Architect Charles De Wulf drew some inspiration from the 16th century late-gothic style when he drew the plans. Which is why the castle may look older than it really is.

Minnewater = Lovewater. Any citizen of Bruges will tell you that, when you stand on the Minnebrug (the Love Bridge) and look in the water, you will see the person for whom you have the greatest love of all... Absolutely true!

A remarkable picture. The old godshouses in the foreground and behind them, in sharp contrast, the Concertgebouw (Concert building). The house at the fore was byuilt in 1436 and is thus the oldest. It was restored in 1958 and two new chimneys were added. The other houses were built during the first half of the 17th century. The street is named after Isabelle Gloribus who, with her husband, financed the building of them. The red Concertgebouw in the background goes back to... 2002.

\"Blog from Bruges\" wants to be completely neutral in all matters. My photos of Bruges are Bruges as I find it. When a photo shows, here and there, a business enterprise, it simply means that it is  representative of the city\'s image, or that a historical fact is attached to it. Or, simply, that it is funny or pleasant, as is the case here with Pub Napoleon. It\'s on the corner of the Korte Vulders street and \"Hoogste van Brugge\" (Highest of Bruges) (true name of the street because it really is about the highest point of the city.)

  From this day till May 25, the day of the Holy Blood Procession, I will post each day a photo of what is called \"The most glorious day of Bruges\".  All the photos were taken in 2004.
Let\'s start with the grandstand,  always erected in front of the Sint-Salvator\'s Cathedral. All the dignitaries, be they of Church, City or Province, are assembled here. In a while, when the Procession will reach this spot, they will join it and accompany its peregrination through the streets of Bruges. Year after year, the procession draws between 30,000 and 60,000 people.
Our Mayor, Patrick Moenart, is easy to identify in this photo : he is the only one looking directly at the camera. He didn\'t look too well, that day. It was later learned he had a kidney problem, for which he underwent successful surgery.  To his left we have our Monsignor Van Gheluwe.

Let me zoom in once more on our mayor Patrick Moenaert and our bishop, monsignor Roger Van Gheluwe. While our mayor has "his pants in high waters", our spiritual father seems to have seriously "worn out his shoes" (as is our delicate way of saying such things here...)

An impressive bit of nature at the outskirts of the city.

This part of the Ramparts was named after the Forgers' gate. Seen from the ramparts, the gate does not look very impressive. Yet, it is one of the more historically significant gates of the city. It was built in 1367-1368,  facing the general direction of France... from where an invasion was somehow expected. And when, indeed, Louis XIV proposed to invade the city, having been assured the help of Frans van der Straeten, a citizen of the city of Ghent, the catastrophy was avoided in extremis. The man from Ghent was put to death and his head was hung outside the gate. Now, an iron cranium serves as a reminder of the memorable event.

A water-mill is milling water
Water mills the mill-water
Milling water in the water-mill
What is milling waters the mill
A water-mill is milling water

It might make no sense to you and me, but the miller sings it anyway.

... all around Bruges. We see the tower of the Sint-Sebastiaan\'s guild, an archery guild, in the Carmerstreet.

When looking at a plan of Bruges, it would be quite logical to think that in this egg-shaped city, covering an area of barely 3,5 by 2,5 kilometers, there isn\'t a square foot left to be found anywhere to add another building. Not so. Here and there, some parcels of land are still lying empty. The one here, between the Vlamingendam, the Sint-Clarastreet and the Sint-Claralane, is now assiduously being...built up. That, too, is Bruges. 

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\"God\'s Houses\". This is one of the many aspects so typically proper to Bruges. Affluent burghers of Bruges might have something bothering their conscience. Did they game excessively, did they murder somebody...? In order to maintain their good standing with their Church and affirm their religious belief, they would finance the building of a God\'s House for the benefit, mostly, of widows. Whatever the reasons of Christiaan De Vos, in 1713 he had these six godshouses built, flanked by the inevitable chapel. It has become one of the great tourist attractions. Every day, without fail, groups of visitors come and take a look at these houses, from across the street. Which is why I find it strange that, during the winter of 2004/2005, one of the inhabitants had been lying dead for several months inside one of these houses before the fact being discovered (to the right of the photo, there are several more such dwellings). It was only when  the policeman who was usually in charge of this area, became suspicious. Bizarre.