The swans of Bruges

Swans in the canal near the beguinage in Bruges.

There is a story about the swans in Bruges, dating from the time of Maximilan (1832-1867). This man, who married princes Charlotte of Belgium in 1857, had a confident named ´Longneck´. When Longneck was sentenced to death, Maximilian put a curse on the city for killing the man who meant a lot to him. He compelled the people of Bruges to keep swans (or 'longnecks') in the canals forever and ever.
There are about 50 swans in the city, and whenever one of them dies, a new swan is bought..

I'm linking to Saturday's Critters.

Bruges beguinage

Back from a city trip to Bruges! This is the 'Ten Wijngaerde' beguinage, with its central courtyard lined with trees and side trees it retains a religious and social function. In 1998 this site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The white houses, the harmonious environment and the closed nature of this beguinage make it a very charming place and loved by tourists from all over the world. We had a look around here in the morning and (almost) managed to avoid groups wandering around :)

love locks

During our stay in Bruges in March, we noticed a few love locks at the entrance gate of the Béguinage. As I explained earlier, a béguinage is a collection of small buildings used by Beguines: a religious movement of women. Even though it is a very private area, you are allowed to walk around as a tourist but there are signs everywhere asking you to be quiet (click HERE to see a 'silence please'-sign I posted before). 

The béguinage is a peaceful place and attracts lots of tourists from around the world every day. These pictures were taken almost 2 months ago, how many couples have put a sign of their love here since then?

Linking to signs, signs.

silence please

The béguinage ('begijnhof' in Dutch) in Bruges is a lovely and peaceful place, and is visited by many tourists each day.

The collection of small buildings around a courtyard was used by Beguines. These were  sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic church, and the women who lived here could serve God without retiring from the world.

Signs like these, and there are many (!), ask you to respect silence in this place.

For more signs go to signs, signs.