Bruges. The Governor of Flanders and the Burgomaster of the City welcoming King Albert, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Leopold in the Grand'Place.
Under the Republic and the Empire, the city, under French domination, became the capital of the Department of the Lys, and later, under Dutch rule (1815-1830), of Western Flanders. When, later, the kingdom of Belgium was constituted, it retained this rank.
Since that time, Bruges with her melancholic chimes has remained a quiet old-world place, the delight of lovers of art, who each year come to admire her treasures, amid the charm of quaintly picturesque scenery.
The boundaries of the city have remained unchanged since the time when Bruge's prosperity was at its height. The area of the town being the same as in the 14th century, it follows that the present-day population of 50,000—all that remains of the former 200,000 inhabitants—has plenty of elbow-room. However, the numerous open spaces and gardens in no way detract from the æsthetic appearance of the place. In shape an oval, stretching from the south-west to the north-east, the town is surrounded by ramparts and a wide exterior moat, except on the north (between the Gates of Ostend and Damme) where they were demolished at the beginning of the present century, in order to connect up directly with the new ship canal. Parts of the ramparts have been transformed into boulevards, promenades and gardens. Of the numerous windmills which used to form a picturesque girdle round the city, only two, situated near the Sainte-Croix Gate, remain.
At the beginning of the present century, when the ship-canal from Bruges to Zeebrugge was opened, the "dead" city made an effort to revive her ancient prosperity, but the irony of fate willed that the new port should mainly serve the German invader. On October 13, 1914, amid the confusion which followed the fall of Antwerp, and whilst the remains of the Belgian Army were falling back on the Yser, the Germans entered Bruges, and there established the reign of terror under which Belgium suffered for four long years. Happily, Bruges, like Ghent and Brussels, came out of the War practically unscathed.
King Albert and Queen Elizabeth leaving the Hôtel Provincial (October 25, 1918.)
From October 14, 1914 to October 19, 1918, Bruges was occupied by the Germans, with Admiral von Schroeder as Military Governor.