Bruges

This article is about the city in Belgium. See also Bruges, France[?].

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Bruges (Dutch: Brugge) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, of which it is the capital. The municipality comprises the city of Bruges proper and the towns of Assebroek[?], Dudzele[?], Koolkerke[?], Lissewege[?], Sint-Andries[?], Sint-Kruis[?], Sint-Michiels[?] and Zeebrugge[?]. On January 1st, 2000 Bruges had a total population of 116,246 (56,292 males and 59,954 females). The total area is 139.48 km² which gives a population density of 833.40 inhabitants per km².

Like Ghent, but on a more concentrated scale, it has most of its medieval architecture intact. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Belgium, and was European Capital of Culture in 2002 together with Salamanca.

The Dutch mathematician Simon Stevin was born in Bruges.

External link

• Official Website (http://www.brugge.be/)