Beware, when entering Damme on a sunny summer’s day. You may be seriously tempted to spend most of your time on one of the many terraces in the lovely heart of the town centre or along the calm water of the canal.

Journalists assigned to visit the town, however, don’t have that option, I remind myself. And besides, a stroll along the cobblestone streets of the historic centre is certainly a worthwhile activity, getting to know the colourful characters and military episodes that have shaped the Damme of today. Apart from maps, the tourist office now also offers the free iDamme application, a virtual walking tour guide.

A statue of Jacob van Maerlant greets you from his stone base in front of Damme’s city hall. This 13th-century poet and author lived and worked nearly his entire life as a clerk in the town. Van Maerlant’s primary merit lies in his translations of French and Latin works to Middle Dutch, the language of the common people.

You will also encounter a memorial sculpture of him at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw church, where he is buried under the church tower. The tower is open for visitors, and its unusual flat top provides a convenient platform to look across the countryside.

An early villain

In the garden of the church stands a memorial for the other literary hero of Damme, Tijl Uilenspiegel. Along the banks of the canal, another monument features the folk character holding up a mirror to two owls. This symbolises his last name, uil meaning “owl” and spiegel meaning “mirror”. In English, the character is known as Till Owlglass.

But Uilenspiegel in fact has a whole museum dedicated to him at the Huyse de Grote Sterre, where you also find the visitor centre for Damme and the Zwin area. An interactive exhibition illustrates Uilenspiegel’s fictional adventures and his importance to Flemish cultural history.

Originally, Uilenspiegel was a villainous character whose evil deeds were transmitted orally until written down around 1500 by the German writer Hermann Bote, with the moralistic purpose of showing readers how you should not behave. A Flemish translation soon followed, and, in the 17th century, the tales started to be linked with the town of Damme.

In 1867, the popularity of Uilenspiegel and his connection to Damme were solidified with the publication of a novel by Belgian writer Charles De Coster, translated into English as Legend of Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak and Their Adventures Heroical, Joyous and Glorious in the Land of Flanders and Elsewhere.

De Coster portrayed Uilenspiegel as a jester, born and bred in Damme, who amuses readers through his bold adventures and instils admiration through his rebellion against the Catholic Spanish domination in the 16th century. De Coster created a girlfriend for Uilenspiegel called Nele and the companion Lamme Goedzak – a soft-hearted bon vivant obsessed with food.

“From then on, Uilenspiegel became a symbol of the Flemish spirit, and his adventures were translated into numerous languages,” says the museum’s curator, Jan Hutsebaut. “He not only featured in novels, comics and children’s books but also in all kinds of propaganda. At one time, both communists and Nazis tried to misuse him for their goals.”

Damme not only honours its literary heroes from the past, it has earned a reputation as a book lover’s town. Every second Sunday of the month, a large book fair takes place right on the central square. But every day, you can browse the eight cosy bookshops around the town of just 11,000 residents.

Among them is the bookshop d’ Oede Schole; the name is dialect for “the old school”, as it’s located in a former school building. In the former school yard stand sculptures of the Walloon artist Charles Delporte, who donated an extensive collection of works to the city.

Front line

Damme also has a significant military history, which is still clearly visible. In the 17th century, during the Dutch War of Independence (or Eighty Years’ War), Damme lay on the front line and was transformed into a fortress town by replacing the medieval fortifications with ramparts. The ramparts, which gave Damme the shape of a seven-pointed star, have been renovated, and a walking path leads visitors along the military relics in a current nature reserve.

Near the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw church and the picturesque Haringmarkt, you’ll also find casemates – former ammunition depots. Today, bats have made their home in the casemates and, during the Night of the Bat, on 23 and 24 August, the casemates are open for visitors.

Over the next few weeks, you can also be one of the last visitors to the museum at the 13th century Saint-John’s Hospital. More than 500 pieces of furniture, paintings, silverware, documents and books from the convent library illustrate the history of this former hospital. Support for the museum has been withdrawn, and it will close at the end of September.

Damme has more on offer than a historic centre; it has a whopping six districts: Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerke, Sijsele and Vivenkapelle. The polder region, interspersed with canals, forms an ideal terrain to explore on a bike or Vespa – both of which you can rent at the tourist office in Damme. (The office also offers a Vespa weekend, with accommodation and culinary treats.)

On the many signposted routes, you will spend a lot of time along the Schipdonk and Leopold canals. Among locals, these are known as De Stinker (the stinker) and the De Blinker (the brilliant); the Schipdonk has history of pollution problems, contrary to the Leopold. Today, however, both canals are pleasant waterways.

A third canal, the Damse Vaart, is often referred to as the Napoleonvaart. It was dug in 1810 on order of the French emperor and connects Bruges with the Dutch border town Sluis. Near the town of Hoeke, you can cross the Damse Vaart on a small ferry boat. You’ll note the absence of a captain as you propel yourself across by turning a wheel.

The meadows alongside the routes also house much in the way of military history. You can spot, for example, remains of the Burnt Fort in Oostkerke and the Fort of Bavaria in Koolkerke (just outside of Damme). However, if you’re more like Lamme Goedzak than Tijl Uilenspiegel, you can also enjoy a relaxing trip on the nostalgic river boat – logically called Lamme Goedzak – that sails between the Noorweegse Kaai in Bruges and the centre of Damme. A bus takes you from Bruges’ railway station or central market square to the river boat jetty and back.

www.toerismedamme.be

Inns along the way

When rambling through the countryside around Damme, you won’t have to worry about finding places where you can rest awhile. Het Oud Gemeentehuis, located near the church of Oostkerke, is both a nice brasserie and a hotel. If you want to stay at an authentic 17th-century farm, say, book a room at the Hofstede De Stamper. Apart from pampering their guests, the owners still raise their own cattle and sheep.

www.hetoudgemeentehuis.be
www.destamper.be