. The Flemish commercial city of Bruges was the chief port of northern Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. By the second half of the 9th century, it was the administrative center of the pagus Flandrensis, the nucleus from which the counts extended...

Bruges (Dutch: Brugge, stemming from Bryggja, which assumedly used to signify 'landing stage' or 'port') is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....