"THE PLACE OF BRIDGES" —A CHARACTERISTIC VIEW OF BRUGES, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS OF MEDIAEVAL CITIES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 19, 9 November 1910, Page 19

"THE PLACE OF BRIDGES" —A CHARACTERISTIC VIEW OF BRUGES, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS OF MEDIAEVAL CITIES.

The most famous and most picturesque o* mediaeval cities in Northern Europe is Bruges, the walled city and capital of West Flanders, Belgium. It seems almost impossible to imagine that little over 4<m» years ago this beautiful old capital was the foremost commercial city in the world. It is a perfect storehouse of all the industrial crafts, and the arts, ami the cruelties, of the Middle Ages. Towering to a height of 348 ft above the city is the famous Belfry of Bruges with a peal of L brils me finest in the world. The collection of early Flemish paintings in the various public buildings is regarded as unequalled by any other city in Europe. Within the city are 52 bridges, spanning the canals that wind among tin* buildings, and impart an an <»i exceptional picturesqueness to the tine old town. Bruges has a wonderful history. Of its associations volumes have been written, but. the spell of its beauty and the infinite variety of its attractions can only be realised by the happy tourists who sojourn there a few weeks, dreaming of time and ages out of which has grown the century of to-day.