The best hikes from bus stations around Bruges

Be sure to take a canal cruise. Reservations are not necessary.

This chapel was built in 1687 by the then Cistercian abbot of the nearby (Maarten a Colle) Ter Doest Abbey, because of his victory during a trial against Abbot Terasse. The trial was about the title of Abbot of Ter Duinen, and was conducted before King Louis XIV. The coat of arms on the left is that of a Colle, on the right of Ter Doest and Ter Duinen. In the niche decorated with volutes above the entrance is a statue of Mary and the Child Jesus. Source: www.belgiumview.com and information board on site

Beautiful bridge over the Dijver with a great view

Beautiful, quiet, nature, animals

The hopping hare that you can find in the dunes at the end of the sea wall of Knokke is a bronze sculpture by Barry Flanagan. Although the official name is Hospitality, the hare is also called keuning van’t Zwin, Bugs Bunny or t' keun by the locals.

There are many simple but beautiful wooden mills here.

John Nepomuk is a well-known bridge saint. In the past, bridges often had chapels or niches with a statue of the saint to whom the bridge was dedicated. Local residents provided candles, which were lit in the niche in the evening. The statues or chapels often had a practical purpose. In many cases, they indicated the place where the safe channel ran under the bridge for the benefit of skippers. Of course, the saint also had to protect the bridge from collapsing. But the popular belief that witches and all kinds of evil spirits would dwell under bridges was also a reason to place a statue of the bridge saint on or near the bridge. John Nepomuk is the bridge saint par excellence in many Catholic countries. The story of John Nepomuk is probably very romanticized as follows. He served as a priest at the court of King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia, who was also King of the Romans from 1378 to 1400. John Nepomuk was the confessor of Wenceslas' wife, Queen Sophie. Once, a rotten chicken was served at the king's table. In a fit of rage, the king ordered the cook to be spit-roasted and burned alive. John Nepomuk resisted this and was thrown into prison, while the cook was put to death. The suspicious Wenceslas, who could not overcome the difficulties with the Bohemian nobility, suspected his wife of dishonorable relations and had her imprisoned. Her confessor Nepomuk sought her out and heard her confession. After one of these visits, the king demanded that the confessor tell him what the queen had confided to him in confession. John Nepomuk refused. The secret of confession was sacred to him. He was tortured, but he stuck to his refusal, whereupon Wenceslas had him bound hand and foot and thrown over the bridge of the Vltava River at midnight. Numerous miracles are reported in connection with this murder, which was committed in the year 1393. For example, the river is said to have dried up when the body of the martyr touched the water. Above the bridge, shining rays were seen. Other traditions tell that the body remained floating on the Vltava while five stars formed a halo around the head of the drowned man. Source: https://www.nepomukboxmeer.nl/over-nepomuk/het-verhaal-van-johannes-van-nepomucenus/

John Nepomuk is a well-known bridge saint. In the past, bridges often had chapels or niches with a statue of the saint to whom the bridge was dedicated. Local residents provided candles, which were lit in the niche in the evening. The statues or chapels often had a practical purpose. In many cases, they indicated the place where the safe channel ran under the bridge for the benefit of skippers. Of course, the saint also had to protect the bridge from collapsing. But the popular belief that witches and all kinds of evil spirits would dwell under bridges was also a reason to place a statue of the bridge saint on or near the bridge. John Nepomuk is the bridge saint par excellence in many Catholic countries. The story of John Nepomuk is probably very romanticized as follows. He served as a priest at the court of King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia, who was also King of the Romans from 1378 to 1400. John Nepomuk was the confessor of Wenceslas' wife, Queen Sophie. Once, a rotten chicken was served at the king's table. In a fit of rage, the king ordered the cook to be spit-roasted and burned alive. John Nepomuk resisted this and was thrown into prison, while the cook was put to death. The suspicious Wenceslas, who could not overcome the difficulties with the Bohemian nobility, suspected his wife of dishonorable relations and had her imprisoned. Her confessor Nepomuk sought her out and heard her confession. After one of these visits, the king demanded that the confessor tell him what the queen had confided to him in confession. John Nepomuk refused. The secret of confession was sacred to him. He was tortured, but he stuck to his refusal, whereupon Wenceslas had him bound hand and foot and thrown over the bridge of the Vltava River at midnight. Numerous miracles are reported in connection with this murder, which was committed in the year 1393. For example, the river is said to have dried up when the body of the martyr touched the water. Above the bridge, shining rays were seen. Other traditions tell that the body remained floating on the Vltava while five stars formed a halo around the head of the drowned man. Source: https://www.nepomukboxmeer.nl/over-nepomuk/het-verhaal-van-johannes-van-nepomucenus/