MANCAMONDO

Central Western
Europe

Kingdom of Belgium

The Benelux Union is a politico-economic union of three neighbouring
states in western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

The name Benelux is formed from joining the first
two or three letters of each country's name.

Benelux

Belgium

Bruges

Belgium is a low-lying country on the North Sea coast in the Benelux.

Bruges is oval and about 430 hectares in size.

Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam, it is sometimes referred to as The Venice of the North.

Bruges has a significant economic importance thanks to its port and was once one of the world's chief commercial cities.

Bruges (Dutch: Brugge German: Brügge) is the capital and largest city of the province of
West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country.

The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO.

Bruges is well known as the seat of the College of Europe,
an elite university institute for European studies
regarded as "the EU's very own Oxbridge."

The name probably derives from the
Old Dutch for "bridge": brugga.

Bruges Brugge West Flanders march 2018

The Markt ("Market Square") of Bruges is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about 1 hectare.

Some historical highlights around the square include the 12th-century belfry and the West Flanders Provincial Court
(originally the Waterhall, which in 1787 was demolished and replaced by a classicist building that from 1850
served as provincial court and after a fire in 1878 was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1887.

Bruges (Brugge) Markt, West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

The Belfry of Bruges (Dutch: Belfort van Brugge) is a medieval bell tower in the centre of Bruges.

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.

In the center of the market stands the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck.

Bruges (Brugge) Markt, West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

The belfry was added to the market square around 1240, when Bruges was an important centre of the Flemish cloth industry.

Bruges (Brugge) Markt, West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

Bruges had a strategic location at the crossroads of the northern Hanseatic League trade and the southern trade routes

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

The Burg was originally surrounded by walls and had entrance gates. It is one of the oldest parts of the city centre.

The Bruges City Hall is one of the oldest city halls in the entire Netherlands region. It is located
in Burg square, the area of the former fortified castle in the centre of Bruges.

The Civil Registry building was completed in 1537 and housed the Civil Registrar, who was one of the most important city officials.

The Civil Registry building, Bruges (Brugge) West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

The Basilica of the Holy Blood (Dutch: Heilig-Bloedbasiliek, French: Basilique du Saint-Sang) is a Roman Catholic basilica.

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.

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.

The Basilica of the Holy Blood, Bruges (Brugge), West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

Bruges (Brugge), West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

The Gruuthusemuseum is a museum of applied arts in Bruges, located in the medieval Gruuthuse, the house of Louis de Gruuthuse.

The Church of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk), dates mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.

This church is essentially "...a monument to the wealth, sophistication, taste, and devotion of this most Catholic city,
whose history and faith stand today celebrated in this wonderful building."

Bruges (Brugge), West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

Bruges (Brugge) West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

Spiegelrei canal, Bruges (Brugge) West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

Bruges (Brugge) West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

View from the Rozenhoedkaai. Bruges (Brugge) West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

Bruges (Brugge) West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.

Bruges (Brugge), West Flanders, Flemish Region, northwest of Belgium, march 2018.