The historic center is included as a medieval city on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is egg-shaped and about 430 hectares in size. The entire municipality has an area of ​​more than 14,099 hectares, including about 1,075 hectares reclaimed from the sea, near Zeebrugge. The city has more than 118,000 inhabitants; about 20,000 of them live in the inner city. The inhabitants of Bruges are called Bruggelings.[1] Bruges' economic significance stems mainly from the seaport, Zeebrugge, but also from industry, the service sector and schools at all levels. The city is also a world famous tourist attraction.

The first signs of life on the current Bruges territory date from the 2nd century AD, when there was a Gallo-Roman settlement there. The name of Bruges was mentioned for the first time between 850 and 875. Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the city grew into an international trade center thanks to its important port. For a while, the port threatened to be threatened by the silting up of the area between Bruges and the current coastal strip. However, the creation of the Zwin, the channel between Bruges and the sea, in 1134 ensured that the connection was maintained. In 1089, Bruges was declared the 'capital' of the County of Flanders and from the 13th to the 15th century, Bruges could safely be regarded as the economic capital of Northwest Europe. Due to its importance as a trading center, the first stock exchange building in the world saw the light of day in Bruges. In addition, the Waterhalle was also built on the Grote Markt as a meeting place for traders.

The area in which Bruges has grown lies on the border of a sandy loam area and the sea polders, approximately 15 km from the North Sea. The largest part of the city can be counted as part of the Zandstreek. Bruges has eight sub-municipalities, six of which – Bruges, Sint-Andries, Sint-Michiels, Assebroek, Sint-Kruis and Koolkerke – have an urban character and two – Dudzele and Lissewege – are characterized by a rural landscape on the one hand and a port-related landscape on the other. The inner city – the historic part of the city within the fortresses – has the highest population density on average. Neighborhoods adjacent to the city center also often have a high population density, sometimes higher than some neighborhoods in the city center. In general, with the exception of certain districts, the population density decreases slightly as one moves further away from the inner city.