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Bruges
Brugge (Dutch) | |
|---|---|
City and municipality | |
Southwestern view from the Belfry, with the Church of Our Lady and St. Salvator's Cathedral in the background Canal view with Belfry in the background | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Bruges  | |
  Bruges Location in Belgium
Location of Bruges in West Flanders  | |
| Coordinates: 51°12′32″N 03°13′27″E / 51.20889°N 3.22417°E | |
| Country |  Belgium |
| Community | Flemish Community |
| Region | Flemish Region |
| Province | West Flanders |
| Arrondissement | Bruges |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Dirk De fauw (CD&V) |
| • Governing party/ies | CD&V, Vooruit, Open VLD |
| Area | |
• Total | 140.99 km2 (54.44 sq mi) |
| Population (2022-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 118,509 |
| • Density | 840/km2 (2,200/sq mi) |
| Postal codes | 8000, 8200, 8310, 8380 |
| NIS code | 31005 |
| Area codes | 050 |
| Website | brugge.be |
| Official name | Historic Centre of Brugge |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii)(iv)(vi) |
| Reference | 996 |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
| Area | 410 ha (1,000 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 168 ha (420 acres) |
 Logo of Brugge | |
Bruges (/bruːʒ/ BROOZH, French: [bʁyʒ] ; Dutch: Brugge [ˈbrʏɣə] ; West Flemish: Brugge [ˈbrœɦə]) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and 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,[2] meaning 'Bruges by the Sea').[3] 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),[4] 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.[5]
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.[6][7] 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.[8]
- ^ "Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2022". Statbel.
- ^ Degraer, Hugo (1968). Repertorium van de pers in West-Vlaanderen 1807-1914. Nauwelaerts, University of Michigan. p. 143., Snippet pages 143
- ^ Boniface, Brian G.; Cooper, Christopher P. (2001). Worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism (3 ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7506-4231-6., page 140
- ^ Statistics Belgium; Population de droit par commune au 1 janvier 2008 (excel-file) Archived 26 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Population of all municipalities in Belgium, as of 1 January 2008. Retrieved on 19 October 2008.
- ^ Statistics Belgium; De Belgische Stadsgewesten 2001 (pdf-file) Archived 29 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Definitions of metropolitan areas in Belgium. The metropolitan area of Bruges is divided into three levels. First, the central agglomeration (agglomeratie), which in this case is Bruges municipality, with 117,073 inhabitants (1 January 2008). Adding the closest surroundings (banlieue) gives a total of 166,502. And, including the outer commuter zone (forensenwoonzone) the population is 255,844. Retrieved on 19 October 2008.
- ^ Dunton, Larkin (1896). The World and Its People. Silver, Burdett. p. 158.
- ^ Charlier, Roger H. (2005). "Grandeur, Decadence, and Renaissance". Journal of Coastal Research: 425–447. JSTOR 25737011.
Rise, fall, and resurrection make up the life story of Bruges, a city that glittered in Northern Europe with as much panache as Venice did in the Mediterranean World.
- ^ Fleming, Adam (25 October 2013). "College of Europe in Bruges: Home of Thatcher speech". BBC. Retrieved 10 July 2015.