Traveltuesday: Bruges "The Market square & its history"

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The main square of the city of Bruges is without a doubt the Market Square in Dutch called "Markt". It is the heart of the historical city and has a surface of around 1 hectares. 

At the south of the the square one of the main historical buildings of Bruges is located: the Belfry. 





Some history


The market of Bruges already attracted people in the 10th. century!

Around 1200 the first international fair was held. Around 1220 the first Market Hall arose. 

Since 1396 fish trade took place there. In 1709 an iron fish mine was erected. 

In the 13th. century the Belfry of Bruges was built. This was typical for cities in Flanders. It was a symbol of freedom, wealth and urban power.




On 7 January 1430, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy married in Bruges to Isabella of Portugal. She was the daughter of King John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster. On the market square tournaments were held for the wedding. 

The house Craenburg at the market square also is very famous. There Maximilian of Austria was taken captive in 1488 by the people of Bruges. As revenge Maximilian of Austria gave tradesmen the order
to go to Antwerp instead of Bruges. This started the decline of the city. 

Between 1807 and 1810 the square was called "Place Napoleon" after Napoleon Bonaparte. Afterwards it was called "Grote Markt" and nowadays just "Markt". 

In the middle of a square a statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck was erected in 1887. These were two local heroes who played in 1302 a key role in the resistance against the King of France. This resistance ended in the Battle of the Golden Spurs. This was fought in Kortrijk. 




Nowadays


Walking in Bruges always make us very happy. On every corner of the street, you'll see lots of history! 
Bruges is located in Flanders, the northern part of the Kingdom of Belgium. 




Own pictures taken at the market square of Bruges in 2016

Location: Brugge, België

Comments

Kathleen Van Lierop said…
Dank je wel!!! Is van een paar jaar geleden ... :-)
December 2, 2020 at 10:58 PM
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