Looking across the walled town to the
coastal marshes and the sea
The flag of the Lion of Flanders flies on the town walls,
which are remarkably complete.
|
Walled town
Walking round the town walls of Bergues, you
could almost be back in the Middle Ages! The walls and
towers are remarkably complete. This market town has stood
guard over the coastal marshes of Flanders for generations,
fending off attacks from every direction. In peaceful
interludes, local farmers brought produce to sell in the
market by the town
belfry.
Monks drained the marshes
The flat marshes round Bergues were reclaimed by
monks in the Middle ages. The monasteries
created rich pastures, grazing sheep for wool, cattle for
butter and cheese. Bergues cheese, made for centuries from
unpasteurised milk, is still a local speciality.
Medieval wool port
Bergues was a properous port for the Flemish
wool trade, with ships coming up the river from the sea.
Its trade rivalled Dunkerque or Bruges. You can walk round
the town walls, and still see remains of the old Abbey of St
Winoc inside the town - standing on a mound raised slightly
above the marshes.
Part of Flanders
For centuries the area was part of the domain of the
Count of Flanders, which became the Spanish
Netherlands in the later Middle Ages. Much of the town
reflects the Flemish style of architecture. The
Belfry was originally built in the 16th century as a
fortified watch tower. Dynamited by the Germans in 1940, it
was rebuilt after the war. The
Mont-de-Piété (a pawnshop) was one of
several built in Flanders in the 17th century to help the
poor.
A French border stronghold
When it was captured by France in 1668, Bergues' old
medieval town walls were strengthened and developed by the
famous military engineer, Vauban.
He channelled the river to make defensive moats round the
town. Bergues became part of a chain
of forts designed to ensure that France's north-east border
lands could not be recaptured.
|
|
Local cheese is a
speciality. This painting, 'The Guild of butter weighers at
Bergues' by Pierre Paul Desrumaux 1929 - in Musée
d'Hazebrouck. Reflects the peasant agriculture of coastal
Flanders a century ago.
|
The
Mont-de-Piété is a fine example of
ornate 17th century Baroque
architecture, from when Spain
ruled Flanders. Built as a pawnshop to help the poor, it is
now the Museum of Bergues.
|
|
