Cranenburg House

Bruges ( BROOZH, French: [bʁyʒ] ; Dutch: Brugge [ˈbrʏɣə] ; German: Brügge German pronunciation: [ˈbʁʏɡə]) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. It is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 14,099 hectares (140.99 km2; 54.44 sq miles), including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge (from Brugge aan zee, meaning 'Bruges by the Sea'). The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval and about 430 hectares in size. The city's total population is 117,073 (1 January 2008), of whom around 20,000 live in the city centre. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 616 km2 (238 sq mi) and had a total of 255,844 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008.Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Saint Petersburg, it is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North. Bruges has significant economic importance, thanks to its port, and was once one of the world's chief commercial cities. Bruges is a major tourism destination within Belgium and is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, a university institute for European studies.

The Markt (Dutch for "Market") is the central square of Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium. It is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about 1 ha (2.5 acres). Some historical highlights around the Markt include the 12th-century Belfry and the Provincial Court (originally the Waterhall, which in 1787 was demolished and replaced by a classicist building, which from 1850, served as provincial court, and after a fire in 1878, was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1887). In the centre of the square stands a statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck. The Markt was completely renovated in 1995–96. Parking spaces on the square were removed and the area became mostly traffic-free, thus being more celebration friendly. The renovated square was reopened in 1996 with a concert by Helmut Lotti.

The Belfry of Bruges (Dutch: Belfort van Brugge) is a medieval bell tower in the centre of Bruges, Belgium. One of the city's most prominent symbols, the belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other dangers.

The Bruges Public Library is a public library in Bruges, Belgium. Since its foundation in 1796 the Public Library of Bruges has functioned both as a public library and a special collections library. The core of the special collections consists of ca. 600 medieval manuscripts, ca. 70 incunables, and the library and archives of the poet Guido Gezelle (1830-1899). The largest portion of medieval manuscripts are the ca. 490 manuscripts from the Cistercian abbeys of Ten Duinen (°1138) and Ter Doest (°1175), which include a large set of illuminated manuscripts produced in Flanders. Another important part of the collection are the ca. 70 illuminated books of hours from, among others, Flanders, the Netherlands and France. The incunable collection includes woodcuts and engravings, e.g. in Colard Mansion's Metamorphoses and Hartmann Schedel's Liber chronicarum. The special collections include works by artists like Willem Vrelant, the Master of Guillebert de Metz, the Master of the Tall Figures (Beaufort Group), Hieronymus and Antonius Wierix, and Michael Wolgemut. Most of the books from the special collection are digitalised and can be consulted online through the library’s catalogue.

The Provinciaal Hof (English: Provincial Court) is a neo-Gothic building on the Markt (main square) in Bruges, Belgium. It is the former meeting place for the Provincial Government of West Flanders.

The Frietmuseum (Fries museum) is a museum in Bruges, Belgium, which is devoted to the history of potatoes and the production of Belgian fries. It describes itself as "the first and only museum dedicated to potato fries".

The Provostry of St. Donatian (Dutch: Sint-Donaasproosdij or Proosdij van de kerkelijke heerlijkheid van Sint-Donaas) is a Baroque building on the Burg Square in Bruges, Belgium. Built in the 17th century, it served as the headquarters of the ecclesiastical seigniory of St. Donatian.

Het Steen was a medieval building on the Burg Square in Bruges, Belgium. Between the late 11th and late 13th centuries, it served as the residence of the Counts of Flanders.

The Basilica of the Holy Blood (Dutch: Heilig-Bloedbasiliek, French: Basilique du Saint-Sang) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Bruges, Belgium. The church houses a relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders. Built between 1134 and 1157 as the chapel of the Count of Flanders, it was promoted to a minor basilica in 1923. The basilica in Burg square consists of a lower and upper chapel. The lower chapel, dedicated to St. Basil the Great, is a dark Romanesque structure that remains virtually unchanged. The venerated Passion relic is in the upper chapel, which was rebuilt in the Gothic style in the 16th century and renovated in the 19th century in Gothic Revival style.

Choco-Story, the Chocolate Museum in Bruges, Belgium, is located in the sixteenth-century "Huis de Crone" building on Sint-Jansplein (at the intersection of Wijnzakstraat and Sint-Jansstraat) in central Bruges. This building was originally the home of a wine tavern. It later housed a bakery and, most recently, a furniture making shop. Choco-Story was opened by Eddy Van Belle and his son, Cédric. The two are also the owners of Belcolade, a family-owned chocolate business. Museum visitors can watch chocolate being made.Аdditionally, a section of the museum is dedicated to the health benefits of chocolate.

Burg Square is a square and former fortress in Bruges. It is one of the main squares of the city.

The City Hall (Dutch: ) of Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium, is a landmark building and the seat of that city. Built in a late-Gothic monumental style between 1376 and 1421, it is one of the oldest city halls in the former Burgundian Netherlands. It is located on Burg Square, the area of the former fortified castle in the centre of Bruges.