The best way to see historic Bruges is by boat
Core of lovely medieval city liberated by the Canadians in 1944 is laced with bridge-covered waterways
BRUGES, Belgium — A busy canal wraps around the heart of this medieval city. Thus there are plenty of bridges.
And Canada Bridge is one of the most recognizable, but you’ll be hard pressed to find it. Police officers, bus drivers, hotel clerks, passersby … no one could direct me to Canada Bridge — until I mentioned the bison.
Bingo — everybody here knows Bison Bridge or Buffalo Bridge. That’s how locals refer to Canada Bridge because of the two large bison standing guard by it. The bridge was built over the Maria van Bourgondielaan Canal, one of the city’s many canals, to salute the Canadian forces who liberated the city on Sept. 12, 1944.
The bison was chosen to adorn the bridge in honour of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons, who bear the provincial symbol on their cap badge. Canada Bridge, designed by sculptor Octave Rotsaert, was officially opened on Sept. 12, 1948 — four years after Canadian troops liberated the city.
The renowned Gothic architecture of Bruges was left almost unscathed by the Second World War and today the best way to see it is by boat.
The core is laced with canals and they pass under some bridges that are 700 years old. Although vehicles and delivery trucks use the narrow cobbled streets, so do tourists because there are so many of them that the sidewalks can’t accommodate them all.
The 2008 hit movie In Bruges didn’t help. It starred Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes in a black comedy about two Irish hitmen hiding out in Bruges. But the real star of the movie is the city’s medieval architecture, canals and cobbled streets.
The 13th-century Belfry of Bruges plays a significant role. The bell tower is 83 metres high and many tourists climb its 366 steps to the observation platform at the top amid the carillon’s 47 melodious bells.