More specifically, four questions about the history of Bruges, which are answered by the various sections of the parcours. We won’t give away the answers here; you’ll find them contained in the fairly extensive texts hung on the walls. If you don't read Dutch, there are folders in other languages available at the entrance.
Was Bruges originally by the sea?
For anyone familiar with Bruges and the coastal plains between the city and the sea, the history of the landscape is fascinating. The first part of the exhibition takes us back to the Middle Palaeolithic, between 70,000 and 35,000 BC, when the area was peopled by sparse tribes of Neanderthal hunter- gatherers, roaming the sandy, treeless plains.
They fled as the Ice Age approached; only when the temperatures turned again, around 14,000 BC, did humans return. As temperatures rose still further, so did the sea level, and much of the land was under water. The remains of campsites have been found from this period, with evidence of tools and weapons as well as building materials.
The first farmers appeared about 5,000 BC, with crops and domesticated animals, as well as more permanent settlements. Most of the plain was by now a bog, with one prominent sand-ridge running from Oudenburg in West Flanders to Aardenburg in what is now the Netherlands. Later on this ridge, Bruges would be built.
Was there a Roman camp in Bruges?
We now skip ahead to the time of Julius Caesar, about 57 AD, when the local Gallo-Roman people were living in more extensive settlements, growing food and trading with other areas. The Romans built defensive camps along the coast, including at Oudenburg, where a castellum, or small Roman fort, had existed for some time.
In the meantime, a large part of the population fled the area. A major marching camp has been excavated near Maldegem, between the two major encampments of Oudenburg and Aardenburg. Torhout was a second-level centre, while Bruges, at the confluence of roads and rivers, may have been of some importance to trade.
As well as evidence of this Roman activity, the exhibition also includes fragments of two Roman boats discovered during port excavation in 1899 at Fort Lapin, now on the northern edge of the Bruges city ring. There’s also a rich collection of artefacts excavated from the castellum of Oudenburg.
Was Bruges the capital of Flanders in the early Middle Ages?
From the fifth century on, the area was part of the Frankish empire, though the new inhabitants who came to the area were, according to pottery remains, related to Frisians, Saxons and Angles. Objects such as tools and utensils have also been found from Northern France, suggesting the existence of trade. Flanders then was just one shire, with the main centres at Rodenburg, Aardenburg and Torhout.
The coast was by this time tidal, with the plain flooded at high tide. Bit by bit, silting had the effect of reclaiming more land from the sea which now became accessible to agriculture, mainly sheep farming, which in turn gave rise to a thriving wool trade.
Did the Vikings found Bruges?
The first mention of the name of Bruges (called Bruggia or Bruccia) appears at the end of the ninth century, but similar names, referring simply to port bridges, were common throughout the North Sea area. A manuscript on view lists the highlights from the reign of the Carolingian kings from 741 to 829 and refers to a garrison that repelled an attack by Scandinavian ships. The first written mention of Bruges was in an inventory of the treasure left behind after the sacking of Sint-Baaf’s abbey in Ghent in 851, which includes a gold cross sent to Bruges for safe keeping.
Bruges, however, is only mentioned as a growing city in the early 12th century, with mentions of the digging of the famous canals, city gates, the market square and five churches. We owe that knowledge to a journal kept by Galbert of Bruges, clerk to the Count of Flanders, detailing the power struggle following the assassination of Charles the Good. And that’s where we leave the “sources”, just at the moment when Bruges is about to become one of the most important cities in northern Europe, and indeed the city you can still see today, outside of the museum’s gate.
Uit goede bron is a modest exhibition and, aside from its scholarship, is ultimately disappointing, lacking impact – and that’s especially true for young visitors. It may be heretical to say so, but these days it takes more than a few pot shards, a manuscript or two and a lot of lengthy texts to make a vibrant, exciting exhibition that’s going to attract the general public.
The Gruuthuse is a museum of the old school, and, like it or not, the competition these days is with museums like the just-opened MAS in Antwerp and the city museum STAM in Ghent, which tackle the histories of their respective cities with every new technique available.
Pictured: Reconstruction of a dwelling from the early middle ages in Uitkerke, West Flanders (top); Roman ships once traversed the waters on the coastline of what is now Belgium
In the suburb of Sint-Andries is a replica of a Merovingian house of the sort in which people would have lived in the sixth century, built of wood, clay and reeds. And it’s not just an empty structure: It’s used by locals as a leisure centre and open daily from 14.00 to 17.00 for free visits.
The lives and habits of those Gallo-Romans of Julius Caesar’s time are the subjects of a programme of events in the Ginter region, south-west of Bruges. The programme follows a wide range of themes, including food, clothing, homes, funerals, religion and literature. The full programme (in Dutch) can be downloaded at www.ginter.be.
Finally, the tourist offices of Bruges and the Ginter municipalities, as well as the Gruuthuse museum, are offering a free walking and cycle map of the area, which points out some of the most interesting locations relating to the exhibition.
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