Named for Bruges (or Brugge), a beautiful small town in West Flanders that was already mentioned in the seventh century as “Municipium Brug ense”, the name being derived from a Roman bridge over the Reie river. In the thirteenth century, together with Ghent {see planet  (9473)} and Ypres, the town held a monopoly on English wool. During the fifteenth century the city began to decline when silt clogged the way to the port of Zeebrugge. However, the city remained a strong center for the Flemish school of painting, until the religious struggles of the sixteenth century completed its ruin. (M 34630) _ _.