Belfort Tower
Dominating the beautiful panorama of the central city square Grote Markt in Bruges, the Belfort tower is considered the most important of all the towers of this city. In addition, UNESCO has assigned it the status of a World Heritage monument.
Grote Markt
Grote Markt (Grote Markt) translates from Flemish as “market square”: to this day, covered markets operate in the very center of the Belgian city of Bruges, which gave it this name. Many city tours originate here, on the famous Market Square.
Groening Museum
The richest collection of canvases and drawings of the Central European Renaissance is located in the Groening Museum. Back in the early 18th century, local art lovers founded the Academy of Fine Arts and obliged each artist to give her one of his paintings — as payment for the right to work in Bruges.
Church of the Holy Blood of Christ
Among the famous religious buildings of Bruges is the Church of the Holy Blood of Christ, whose name was given by a relic brought from the Holy Land by Crusaders in the 12th century. The church is located on the main city square Grote Markt and may seem inconspicuous compared to the elegant facade of the Town Hall.
Archaeological Museum of Bruges
The exposition of the Archaeological Museum (Bruggemuseum-Archeologie) is devoted to all aspects of the city’s life from the Middle Ages to the present day. The information in the museum is presented in the form of a game, during which visitors will learn a lot of interesting things.
St. Peter’s Hospital John
The attraction associated with the names of saints and, alas, already with a paid entrance is St. John’s Hospital. The hospital is considered the oldest in Europe — it was founded in the 12th century and worked until the second half of the 20th.
The historical center of Bruges
The history of Bruges can be traced according to documents from the 3rd century A.D. In the Middle Ages, the city at the crossroads of trade routes and shipping channels became fabulously rich, the spirit of that unique era of adventurism, poetry, mysticism and endless battles is still preserved in its squares and streets.
Beguines Monastery in Bruges
Be sure to visit the Beginok monastery. Since the old days, “beguines” were called lonely widows who united in communities where they lived almost monastic strictly and performed many useful works for the city, including raising orphans. Today, the sisters of the Order of St. Benedict live here.
Ter Doest Monastery in Bruges
At present, only a huge cattle shed, built in 1275, remains of the former abbey infrastructure (a church, two sleeping halls, a hospital, a dining hall…). It is a spacious building with a height of 17 m with oak pillars and beams of floors.
Diamond Museum in Bruges
The Diamond Museum has a huge number of expositions that tell about all stages of diamond processing — from mining to cutting and grinding. To this day, diamonds remain one of the most important export products of Belgium.