Huis Ter Beurze features a tall, stepped gable that rises above the Vlamingstraat. In the late thirteenth century, the van der Beurze family hosted visiting merchants from across Europe in this home. They acted as unofficial brokers,…
Hanseatic Merchant Quarter
This walk leads you through the quiet streets of northern Bruges, once the financial heart of the medieval trading world. You will see the grand representation houses and old docks where merchants from across Europe exchanged global wealth.
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1. Huis Ter Beurze
2. Saaihalle
The Saaihalle features a sharp, stepped gable that rises above the rest of the brickwork along the canal. Built in fourteen forty-one, this hall served the Genoese merchants who traveled to Bruges to trade silk and spices. They used the…
3. The Florentines
The Florentines building on the street corner wears a facade of decorative stone that mimics the patterns of a woven carpet. Beneath those intricate carvings, the Florentine merchant families of the fourteenth century established their…
4. Spanjaardstraat 17
The house at Spanjaardstraat seventeen wears a distinct, deep-gabled facade that dates back to the seventeenth century. While much of Bruges underwent renovations in the nineteenth century, this building retains its original brickwork and…
5. Biskajersplein
The Biskajersplein is marked by a cluster of willow trees that shade its uneven, weathered paving stones. While tourists crowd the nearby market squares, this plaza remains a quiet pocket of the city. Centuries ago, this site served as the…
6. Burghers’ Lodge
The Burghers’ Lodge on the Grote Markt features a stepped gable and a façade covered in distinctive white sandstone. Originally serving as the meeting place for the city's wealthy merchant class, it acted as the headquarters for the White…
7. Tolhuis
The Tolhuis in Bruges stands out for its high, stepped gable topped with a stone statue of a lion holding a shield. Built in the late fifteenth century, this house served as the city’s tax office for goods entering through the canal. In…
8. Jan van Eyckplein
Jan van Eyckplein sits at the end of the Spiegelrei canal, marked by a bronze statue of the painter Jan van Eyck standing on a stone pedestal. This square occupies the former heart of the medieval harbor, where merchants unloaded exotic…
9. Oosterlingenplein
Oosterlingenplein is marked by the tall, gabled facade of the Huis der Oosterlingen, or the House of the Easterners. Built in the late fifteenth century, this structure served as the warehouse and trading hub for merchants from the…