Bruges the Capital City of West Flanders

Bruges (Dutch: Brugge (a name probably signifying landing stage)) is the historic capital of the province of West Flanders, Flanders being one of the three regions of Belgium.

The municipality comprises the city of Bruges proper and the towns of Assebroek 1971, Dudzele 1971, Koolkerke 1971, Lissewege 1971, Sint-Andries 1971, Sint-Jozef 1971, Sint-Kruis 1971, Sint-Michiels 1971, Sint-Pieters 1899, Zeebrugge 1901, and Zwankendamme 1899. On July 1, 2005, Bruges had a total population of 117,172. The total area is 138.40 km² which gives a population density of 847 inhabitants per km². (Males 56.788 Females 60.384)

History of Bruges

Bruges has a long tradition of international port activity. The oldest trade settlement of Bruges and the early medieval port were accessible from the sea until around 1050. A storm flood in 1134 reshaped the Flemish coastal plain: a deep channel appeared, the Zwin, which at the time reached as far as present day Damme. The city remained linked to the sea until the fifteenth century via a canal from the Zwin to Bruges. But Bruges had to use a number of outports, such as Damme and Sluys. It remains so connected, but its main seaport nowadays is, as its name implies, Zeebrugge.

Facts About West Flanders

Capital Bruges
Area 3,125 km²
Population 1,130,040
Density 362 / km²

West Flanders

West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, the Belgian provinces of East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen) and Hainaut (Henegouwen), France and the North Sea. Its capital is Bruges (Brugge). It has a surface area of 3151 km² and is divided into eight administrative districts (arrondissementen) which contain 64 municipalities.

The whole Belgian North Sea coast, an important destination for tourism in Belgium, is in West Flanders. There is a tram line along the whole coast: De Panne - Ostend (Oostende) - Knokke-Heist.

West-Vlaanderen , French Flandre Occidentale the westernmost province of Belgium. It extends inland from the North Sea coast and is bounded by France on the west and south and by Hainaut, East Flanders, and The Netherlands on the east. It is divided into eight administrative arrondissements—Veurne, Ostend, Brugge, Tielt, Roeselare, Kortrijk, Ypres, and Diksmuide. It was once part of the old county of Flanders.

Drained by the Yser and Leie (Lys) rivers, the province can be geographically divided into maritime West Flanders and the interior plain. The former comprises the coastal area and the polders (or land reclaimed from the sea). Maritime West Flanders’ straight, unembayed 42-mile (68-km) coastline has broad sandy beaches backed by a rampart of sand dunes that reach as high as 100 feet (30 metres) and are 1 mile (1.6 km) wide in places. Planted marram grass and conifers help to stabilize the sand. This line of dunes is broken only at the mouth of the Yser River at Ostend, near Zeebrugge, and at the mud-covered inlet of the former Zwijn estuary. Behind the dunes lies a flat plain, the Flemish polders, which are seamed with drainage channels and which extend for 6–10 miles (10–16 km) inland.
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