Archief

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.