Part 6

_Cars can go to the end of the wharves on the mole._ Right and left of the entrance to the jetty are two 6in. guns on concrete platforms _(photo, p. 75)_. Next comes the open-work part, repaired by a temporary bridge built in the first instance by the Germans to replace that part of the jetty destroyed by Lieut. Sandford's submarine, and later rebuilt by the Belgians, after the Germans had destroyed it previous to retreating _(photos, p. 90)_. The tourist now arrives at the mole, on the right side of which are the wharves with their sidings, sheds and cranes which were damaged either by air-raids and the British attack, or by the Germans previous to their retreat. On the left are concrete shelters which were used by the gunners for storing shells, etc. During the German occupation, the enemy's torpedo-boats and submarines were moored alongside the wharves. Along the elevated side-walk are a battery of four 3½in. guns and a number of 6in., 4in., 3in. and 1½in. guns. The entrance to the channel, with the sunken cruisers and the "_Thetis_" stranded in front of them, can clearly be seen from the side-walk.

_Return to the road and before crossing the canal take the road on the left which leads close to where the "Intrepid" and "Iphigenia" still lie._ The work of clearing the entrance to the canal has begun.

_Cross the =Bruges Canal= by the locks, and proceed to =Zeebrugge= (2 kms.)_, an important town which grew up around the port. On the left, in the cemetery behind the church, are the graves of several of the British who were killed in the expedition against Zeebrugge _(photo, p. 80)_, and of the aviators who were brought down in the neighbourhood.

_On leaving Zeebrugge, notice the ="Friedriechsart" Battery=_, on the right armed with four 6½in. naval guns in closed turrets, turning on circular rail tracks mounted on concrete platforms. Between the guns are ammunition shelters connected with the guns by lifts, as on a battleship. In front are infantry defence-works which extend on both sides as far as the Bruges and Leopold Canals.

_Cross the Léopold Canal; immediately beyond, on the left, is the ="Kanal B" Battery=_, armed with 3½in. guns, and on the right a battery of 3in. anti-aircraft guns.

_Continuing along the road, the tourist next reaches =Heyst-sur-Mer= (2 kms.) skirting the hotels and villas on the dike. Beyond the last houses of Heyst, on the right, is the ="Freya" Battery=_, armed with four 8in. protected long-range guns, on circular concrete platforms. Between the left-hand gun and Heyst are two large ammunition shelters; the gunners' shelters are behind. This battery is prolonged by the ="Augusta" Battery=, armed with three 6in. guns on concrete platforms. There is a searchlight on the dike in front of the two batteries.

_The road next passes through =Duinbergen= (1½ kms.)_, where the Germans had observation-posts on the roofs of three houses. _In the village, turn to the right, at the corner of Pauwers Hôtel (photo, p. 84) coming out behind the square which stretches as far as the dike, near_ a concrete observation-post, built on the top of a high dune, and commanding a fine view over the sea _(Photo, p. 84)_.

_Keep along the street in front of the square, going away from the sea; about 100 yards beyond the tram-lines, turn left towards =Knocke= (2½ kms.)_

_Turn left, before reaching the church, to the mill, near which is_ the entrance to the ="Kaiser Wilhelm II" Battery=. The latter is armed with four 12in. long range guns, mounted on bridges, and pivoting round circular tracks in concrete pits, by means of electric motors _(Photos, p. 84)_.

_If it is desired to go as far as =Knocke-sur-Mer= (1 km.), turn left, beyond the church, along Boulevard de Lippens._

This is the most northern seaside place on the Belgian coast. Its church (St. Margaret's) possesses a 15th century tower. During the war, the Germans transformed several houses on the dike into concrete shelters.

_Return to Knocke, proceeding thence to =Heyst= along the road previously taken. Enter +Heyst+ (3 kms.) by the Chaussée de Knocke; take Rue du Kursaal, on the left, then the Ramscappelle Road, on the right, bearing left again 400 yards further on. 2½ kms. beyond =Ramscappelle-lez-Bruges= take the road on the right and cross the Leopold Canal._

_Go through =Dudzeele= village, to the right of which are_ the remains of a battery position, _and further along the road,_ several concrete shelters.

_=Bruges= (18 kms.) is entered by the Chaussée de Dudzeele. Take the =Fort Lapin=, on the left, then cross the bridges, on the right, to the =Plaine des Ecluses=._

_Beyond the latter, follow Rempart des Bassins, then, on the left, Rue du Calvaire, prolonged by Rue St. Claire, Rue St. Georges and Rue Flamande, coming out at the =Grand'Place= (See plan between pp. 88 and 89.)_

BRUGES.

Origin and Chief Historical Events.

A burgh and a fortified bridge (whence the name of "Bruges" ("Brugge")) on the Reye, a brook since absorbed by the canals,--such was the origin of the town.

In the 9th century Baudouin-Bras-de-fer, first count of Flanders and vassal of the French King replaced the original establishment with a fortified castle, around which, in spite of civil discords, quarrels between the rulers and their turbulent subjects, dissensions between the vassal and his suzerain, and rebellions by those two powerful Flemish _communes_--Ghent and Bruges--the town grew and prospered. These troubles were marked by sanguinary episodes, chief among which were the "Bruges Matins" (1302) in which thousands of the "Gens du Lys" _(Leliaerts)_ partisans of France, lost their lives, and shortly afterwards the famous "Battle of the Golden Spurs", in which the flower of France's chivalry, lured into the Groeninghe Marshes, was annihilated by the Flemish pikemen _(clauwaerts)_ led by Breydel the butcher, and Coninck the draper.

The era which followed this crisis was one of great prosperity for Bruges, then a vast emporium of European trade, being in close relation with London, Genoa, Venice, Augsburg and the Hanseatic towns. Wealth abounded. The rich foreign merchants built sumptuous mansions, several of which still exist. Bruges attained the height of its prosperity in the 15th century, under Burgundian rule. Favoured by the long reign of Philippe-le-Bon, "the Great Duke of the West", the arts, today the glory of the old city, flourished exceedingly.

Decadence set in, chiefly owing to the retreating of the sea and the gradual filling up of the creeks and harbours with sand. Trade steadily declined, whilst in the 16th century, political and religious troubles hastened the downfall of the city. The population of 200,000 dwindled away to 50,000, and at last the place came to be known as "Bruges-la-Morte".

Under the Republic and the Empire, the city, under French domination, became the capital of the Department of the Lys, and later, under Dutch rule (1815-1830), of Western Flanders. When, later, the kingdom of Belgium was constituted, it retained this rank.

Since that time, Bruges with her melancholic chimes has remained a quiet old-world place, the delight of lovers of art, who each year come to admire her treasures, amid the charm of quaintly picturesque scenery.

The boundaries of the city have remained unchanged since the time when Bruge's prosperity was at its height. The area of the town being the same as in the 14th century, it follows that the present-day population of 50,000--all that remains of the former 200,000 inhabitants--has plenty of elbow-room. However, the numerous open spaces and gardens in no way detract from the æsthetic appearance of the place. In shape an oval, stretching from the south-west to the north-east, the town is surrounded by ramparts and a wide exterior moat, except on the north (between the Gates of Ostend and Damme) where they were demolished at the beginning of the present century, in order to connect up directly with the new ship canal. Parts of the ramparts have been transformed into boulevards, promenades and gardens. Of the numerous windmills which used to form a picturesque girdle round the city, only two, situated near the Sainte-Croix Gate, remain.

At the beginning of the present century, when the ship-canal from Bruges to Zeebrugge was opened, the "dead" city made an effort to revive her ancient prosperity, but the irony of fate willed that the new port should mainly serve the German invader. On October 13, 1914, amid the confusion which followed the fall of Antwerp, and whilst the remains of the Belgian Army were falling back on the Yser, the Germans entered Bruges, and there established the reign of terror under which Belgium suffered for four long years. Happily, Bruges, like Ghent and Brussels, came out of the War practically unscathed.

From October 14, 1914 to October 19, 1918, Bruges was occupied by the Germans, with Admiral von Schroeder as Military Governor.

Requisitions to the amount of some sixty millions of francs were levied; the factories were emptied of their machinery, and the warehouses of their raw materials.

The bombardments did little damage. The maritime quarter, in which were the Imperial workshops, alone received a number of aeroplane bombs.

It was in this strictly guarded arsenal that the Germans assembled and repaired their submarines. Armour-protected shelters and concrete-covered docks for the submarines not on active service, provided security for the enemy's intense activities. Immense reservoirs of crude oil furnished the boats with fuel. Before leaving, the Germans destroyed these works. The floating-docks, drags, cranes, and port machinery, etc., belonging to Belgium, were wrecked. Sunken hulls blocked up the channels. Huge quantities of stores, including girders, reinforced concrete, sand, etc., were left behind on the wharves.

After stripping the place of everything that could be carried off, after attempting to sell several captured boats which had been brought in there, and after blowing up the bridges, the enemy left the town. Through some mysterious and powerful intervention, the chimes in the belfry were left untouched, and as the Germans hurriedly departed, a peal rang out joyously. Flags and banners were taken from their hiding-places and hung in the streets and squares. "Bruges-the-dead" became "Bruges-the-living-and joyful".

On October 25, 1918, amid indescribable enthusiasm, and to the strains of "La Brabançonne" and "La Marseillaise", rung out on the old belfry chimes, King Albert, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Leopold, accompanied by the General Staff, General Degoutte and Admiral Ronarc'h, re-entered the liberated city.

Third Day.

A VISIT TO BRUGES.

_See Coloured Plan between pp. 88-89._

_To facilitate visiting the city, two excursions are indicated, both of which start from and return to the Grand'Place._

_In Belgium, the churches are generally closed from noon to 2 p.m. The chapels, in which the works of art are kept, can be visited at specified hours, for a small fee. The same applies to the Hôtel-de-Ville._

_Before starting to visit Bruges, obtain particulars from the Bureau Officiel de Renseignements, Grand'Place, underneath the Belfry (3 minutes from the station)._

FIRST EXCURSION.

The Grand'Place.

The Grand'Place or Grand Marché is in the centre of the city. The "Halles" occupy the south side, and the Hôtel du Gouvernement Provincial and General Post Office the western side. On the northern side is a row of remarkable gabled houses _(photo below)_, while to the east, at the corner of the Rue St. Amand, stands the Hôtel Bouchoute which, in 1839, was surmounted with a metal ball indicating the meridian line. In the centre is a monument by the sculptor Paul de Vigne, erected in 1887 to the memory of the famous communists Breydel and de Coninck.

The Halles and Belfry.

It is this edifice--an eloquent witness of the city's past grandeur and symbol of the ancient prosperity of the "Queen of the West"--which characterises Bruges. The building measures 270 feet in length by 110 feet in width. The low galleries with groined vaulting on the ground-floor, contain an archæological museum, whilst those on the first floor are used for exhibition purposes.

The Belfry, in the centre of the façade, is 264 feet high, and comprises two massive, square, superimposed towers, decorated with pinnacles connected by a balustrade. Above rises a third octagonal tower supported by flying buttresses. This last story, which contains the famous peal of bells, was added towards the end of the 15th century. It was surmounted, first with a spire, and later, after the spire was burnt, with a triple campanile, destroyed by lightning in 1741. A balustrade now crowns the tower.

The Renaissance statue of the Virgin, on a stem-like ornament over the main doorway (1819), replaced the original one which was broken during the Revolution (1793). Above is a _bretèche_, from which public announcements were made.

The "Halles" date from the 12th century, but were enlarged in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. _Pass under the vaulted entrance, to the staircase which leads to the upper stories and tower._ A spiral stair of 403 steps leads to the upper platform, which commands a very extensive and impressive view; on the one side, the littoral, with its watering-places and ports, stretching as far as Flushing; on the other side, the Flemish plain, with its towns, burghs, and villages. To the chequered history of this region, a new and far more tragical page has just been added. The visit to the tower comprises: the first story, in which is the "Big Ben" dating from 1680, and weighing nearly six tons; it was taken from Notre-Dame Church and placed there in 1800; the watchmen's room, and lastly the belfry proper, containing a peal of forty-six bells, cast in 1743, and rung either by a cylinder or a key-board. During the German occupation the bells remained dumb.

The Hôtel du Gouvernement Provincial.

This edifice was rebuilt in rich 16th century style (Gothic and Renaissance combined) after the fire which destroyed the original building in 1878. It stands on the site of the old "Water Halle" which was skirted by a canal, now covered in. The German invasion interrupted the completion of the right wing, at the corner of the Rue Philipstock. Excavations carried out on this site laid bare the old pillars of the "Water Halle".

_Leave the Grand'Place by Rue de la Bride, at the corner of which is the =Hôtel des Postes= (Post Office). The tourist next reaches the Place du Bourg, in which are: on the left, the =Prévôté=; on the right, the =Hôtel-de-Ville=_, between the =Chapel of St. Sang= and the =Greffe=.

The Prévôté.

The Prévôté, formerly the residence of the Provosts of the Chapter of St. Donatian, was built in 1664. Its Renaissance façade has been partially restored. On the _terre-plein_ planted with fine trees, which adjoins it, stood the ancient Cathedral of St. Donatian, pulled down in 1790. Charles-le-Bon, Count of Flanders, was assassinated there in 1127.

The Hôtel-de-Ville.

This beautiful Gothic structure is ornamented with six storied corbel-turrets, covered with niches and small statues of the Counts of Flanders (1376-1389).

Badly disfigured during the Revolution, the building was inartistically restored in 1854, as witness the small replace statues. The dependencies facing the narrow street "Ane Aveugle", the canal, and the rear of the Chapel of St. Sang, were either rebuilt or restored in modern times.

On the ground-floor are a large hall, the Council Chamber, and the Burgomaster's office. The staircase leads to the _Salle des Echevins_, which occupies practically the whole length of the story. It was decorated quite recently by A. de Vriendt with frescoes illustrating episodes from the history of Bruges. Its magnificent Gothic vaulting is ornamented with pendent wood-work.

The Chapel of Saint-Sang.

Adjoining the Hôtel-de-Ville, on the right, is the Chapel of Saint-Sang (Holy-Blood), _(photos opposite and on p. 9)_. This famous name was given to two superimposed sanctuaries. The lower one (12th century) with short massive pillars, was dedicated to St. Basil. In the upper one (15th century), is kept the shrine of the Holy Blood, brought from Palestine, according to tradition, by Count Thierry d'Alsace, in 1148. This was the starting-point of the famous procession which, before the German invasion, used to attract large numbers of people to Bruges each year, and was in fact a public festival. Inaugurated in 1303, it takes place on the first Monday following May 3.

The pretty, Flamboyant, two-storied building of blue stone, containing the staircase which leads to the upper chapel, dates from 1530. The chapel is in striking contrast with the massive "crypt" of St. Basil. The stained-glass windows, representing the Dukes of Burgundy, are practically copies of the magnificent windows formerly sold by the City Authorities to a local secondhand dealer for 14 francs each, and which now adorn an English mansion.

The shrine of St. Sang was made in 1614-1617 by Jean Crabbe, the Bruges goldsmith, to replace the one destroyed in 1578. It is a very fine piece of Renaissance workmanship in different metals studded with gems _(Photo opposite)_.

The "Greffe".

Built in 1535-1537, the pretty façade was restored, re-gilded and adorned with statues in 1881-1884 _(Photo, p. 93)_.

The Palais-de-Justice and Palais-du-Franc.

The chief interest of the Palais-de-Justice lies in the ancient _Chambre Echevinale_ which contains the famous mantelpiece so often reproduced pictorially, although no image can give an adequate idea of its richness and splendour _(Photo above)_. In this "poem of carved wood", the great artist, Lancelot Blondeel, expressed with wonderful power and wealth of detail the apotheosis of Charles-Quint. The imperial effigy, forming a central _motif_, stands out boldly in relief. The other life-size figures which surmount the panels to the right and left represent: _on one side_, Maximilian of Austria and Marie of Burgundy; _on the other side_, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, ancestors of the Emperor. The mantelpiece proper is in black marble with a frieze of alabaster representing, in bas-relief, the story of Susannah. This masterpiece was conceived by Blondeel and executed by Guyot de Beaugrant.

_Leave Place du Bourg by the narrow street "Ane Aveugle", which, passing under an arcade, runs between the "Greffe" and the Hôtel-de-Ville, coming out at the "Marché-aux-Poissons"_ (Fish-Market). Immediately on the left is seen the charming vista of the "Quai des Marbriers" and "Quai Vert", one of the most deservedly renowned places in Bruges.

That part of the "Palais du Franc" which was rebuilt in the 16th century overlooks the canal, with its long row of gables and graceful turrets (restored in 1880, by P. Buyck).

_Beyond the canal, turn to the right and cross the +Placette des Tanneurs+ leading to_ the charming +Quai du Rosaire+ and +Le Dyver+. The Quai du Dyver widens, and is planted with fine old trees. Opposite, picturesque buildings, nestling amidst foliage, are reflected in the still water. The lofty spire of Notre-Dame dominates all the surrounding country. _The Rue Neuve Bridge is next reached_; there the canal (formerly the river Reye), makes a sharp bend and disappears under the building facing the bridge. _(Beyond the latter, take the Rue Gruuthuuse as far as_ a new group of remarkable buildings: +Notre-Dame Church+, Hôtel Gruuthuuse and +St. John's Hospital+).

The Hôtel Gruuthuuse.

This pretty structure, situated with Notre-Dame Church in a bend of the Reye, was formerly the house of the malt tax-collector. It was leased in the 15th century to a certain Grutarius who erected that part of the building overlooking the Reye, a fine primitive Bruges style gable of which still remains. The main part of the building, with its façade, beautiful dormer windows, and a turretted staircase, was erected some fifty years later by Louis de Gruuthuuse. The house had just been completed when, in 1471, Gruuthuuse received King Edward IV of England, who had been driven into exile by Warwick. At the end of the following century, the family having become extinct, the mansion was purchased by Philippe II. In 1628, the municipal _mont-de-piété_ was installed there, where it remained until 1875, in which year the city acquired the premises to house the collections of the Archæological Museum. The mansion has been thoroughly restored in modern times.

Notre-Dame Church.

The church of Notre-Dame with its enormous buttressed tower surmounted by a crocketted spire, is 400 feet high and with its satellites, St. Saviour and the Belfry, dominates the entire city and surroundings. It is said to be the largest brick construction in existence.