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Concept
Bruges
Summary
Bruges (bruːʒ , bʁyʒ; Brugge ˈbrʏɣə; Brügge ˈbʁʏɡə) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. It 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, meaning 'Bruges by the Sea'). 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), of whom around 20,000 live in the city centre. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total of 255,844 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008.
Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and St 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. 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.
The earliest mention of the location's name is as Bruggas, Brvggas or Brvccia in AD 840–875. Afterwards, it appears as Bruciam and Bruociam (892); as Brutgis uico (late ninth century); as in portu Bruggensi (1010); as Bruggis (1012); as Bricge in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1037); as Brugensis (1046); as Brycge in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1049–1052); as Brugias (1072); as Bruges (1080–1085); as Bruggas (1084); as Brugis (1089); and as Brugge (1116).
The name probably derives from the Old Dutch for 'bridge': brugga. Also compare Middle Dutch brucge, brugge (or brugghe, brigghe, bregghe, brogghe), and modern Dutch bruggehoofd ('bridgehead') and brug ('bridge'). The form brugghe would be a southern Dutch variant. The Dutch word and the English bridge both derive from Proto-Germanic *brugjō-.
Bruges was a location of coastal settlement during prehistory.
Official source
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