a city of the Austrian Netherlands, capital of the territory of Bruges, with a bishop's see. It is seated in a plain eight miles from the sea; and has a great number of canals, made for the benefit of trade, one of which leads to Ghent, another to Ostend, and others to Sluyse, to Newport, to Furnes, to Ypres, and to Dunkirk, which you may reach in a day in the summer time. All the waters about Bruges are without Bruges out any current; but they may be changed in half an hour's time, by opening the sluices, and letting the water run into the sea. There are several bridges about the city, and that which was built in 1739 of freestone is very stately.
Bruges was in a very flourishing condition upwards of 200 years ago, and every nation had a consul here-in for the maintenance of their rights and privileges; but since the enlargement of Amsterdam and Antwerp, the trade is diminished, and its inhabitants are not numerous enough for so large a place. However, there are many rich merchants, and a chamber for trade. There are several fine churches; in the first rank of which is the cathedral, whose rich ornaments and treasure deserve notice. The finest square in the city is the great market, in which stand the halls, with public galleries, and a large court in the middle, and on one of its sides a high steeple supported only with four pillars. It is full of bells, with the most harmonious chimes in all the country. On the side of the great square there is a structure which serves for a public magazine to lay cloth in. It is built on a canal, and supported by pillars in such a manner, that small vessels can pass under it, to cross the city from the canal of Ostend to that of Ghent.
The square where the Wednesday's market is kept is very fine; for it contains several walks between two rows of trees, and a new guard-house in the middle. The Burg is a large square, in which is the town-house, built in the Gothic manner, and adorned with a variety of figures of the ancient counts and countesses of Flanders. In the same square there are several other public buildings. The church dedicated to the Virgin Mary is very fine, with a high fire-place, which serves as a sea-mark for the ships that come to Ostend; in the inside are two tombs of copper gilt, of an extraordinary magnificence. Besides the cathedral and two collegiate churches, there are five parish churches, fourteen chapels, and twelve convents for men and women. There are a great many almshouses and hospitals, one of which is called the school of Bogards, where there are about 180 boys, some of which are brought up to learning, others to trades, according to their genius. Their habit is cloth, and half of them wear blue and half red, with a black bonnet. There is also a school for poor girls, to the number of 120, clothed with red or blue. In short, there is no place in the Low Countries where they take more care of widows and orphans.
It is remarkable that the knights of the Golden Fleece were instituted in this city in 1430, when the marriage of Philip the Good was celebrated with Elizabeth princess of Portugal. The parts about the city, which belong to it, are called Franc de Bruges, and contain 37 villages, and enjoy perfect liberty, according to the tenor of their freedom. The fortifications of Bruges are but trifling, insomuch that in the time of war they always yield to the strongest party. It is eight miles east of Ostend, 24 north-east of Ghent, and 46 west of Antwerp. E. Long. 3° 5'. N. Lat. 51° 11'.
John of, (real name, John van Eyck), a celebrated Flemish painter, and the first who discovered the method of painting in oil, flourished in the 15th century. He found in the course of his chemical experiments (to which science he also applied himself), that, by grinding colours with linseed or nut oil, he could form them into a solid body which would resist the water, and not need the varnish used in painting the water colours or in fresco. He presented the first picture painted in this manner to Alphonso I. king of Naples, who was much pleased with it.