Bruges is the capital and major city in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish region of Belgium. It lies in the north west of the country. It is a famous World Heritage Site of the UNESCO. It is egg-shaped and it is around 430 hectares in size. It has a population of approximately 117073 (1 January 2008). Around 20,000 of them live in the historic center
Zwin channel which had played a major role in the city’s prosperity started silting in around 1500.
The economic situation in the city started to deteriorate and during the 17th century the lace industry started to flourish and there were many efforts to restore the glory of the past
During 1650, the city was a base for the king Charles II of England and his court in exile. Bruges became poor and its importance gradually faded. Its population was reduced from 200000 to 50000 by the end of 1800
However, by the second half of the 19th century Bruges became one of the most important touristic places in the world. It especially attracted tourists from Britain and France
In the second half of the 20th century it started to restore some of its past glory. The port of Zeebrugge was built in 1907. The Germans used it for their boats in World War I. It was largely expanded and in the 1970s and early 1980s it became one of the major modern European ports. World tourism also flourished there and due to the new efforts made it was nominated as ‘European Capital of Culture’ in 2002
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