Sint-Michiels () is a

sub-municipality A (, literally ''sub-municipality''), or section (), is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate ...

of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

located in the province of West Flanders,

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It was a separate

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

until 1971. On 1 January 1971, it was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

into Bruges. The amusement park Boudewijn Seapark with the

dolphinarium A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums (sometimes called dolphinaria in plu ...

is situated in Sint-Michiels.

Bus & Car

In 1959 the American long distance bus (coach) operator Continental Trailways made an agreement with the Belgian firm of La Brugeoise et Nivelles to assemble 85 highway coaches, named NEW Silver Eagles, for the American market. The parts and tooling for this venture were supplied by Kässbohrer-SETRA of Germany. SETRA had a contract with Continental to produce the buses but wanted out so it could use all of its production capacity to serve its European customers. La Brugeoise et Nivelles, primarily a maker of railway equipment, agreed to assemble the buses with parts and tooling from SETRA, which arrived in 1960. BN also agreed to help Continental set up its own factory and train its original workers. The BN-built buses were based on the last SETRA Silver Eagles made in 1958. After the contract was fulfilled, BN kept the assembly line open in its factory and it was then operated under the name of Bus & Car, N.V. (Inc.). By the mid-1970s the US dollar had lost significant value on world markets, making production in Belgium uneconomic for customers in the USA. Continental sold its Belgian assets to MOL N.V. of Hooglede, Belgium and the factory closed around 1980. La Brugeoise et Nivelles changed its name to BN and was later bought out by Bombardier of Canada. BN's longtime specialty was railway equipment. BN also made several hundred PCC streetcars or trams for the cities of Brussels, Antwerp and Gent in Belgium plus the Dutch capital of The Hague. BN recently started production in 2018 of a large order of double deck passenger equipment for the Belgian Railways. The factory is expected to close when the order is completed in about three more years. The former Bus & Car factory building still exists and is presently a large shopping center.

Gallery

File:Kasteel Tillegem 2.jpg, Tillegem Castle File:Kapel Tillegembos A.jpg, Small chapel in Tillegembos Image:Dolphinarium Boudewjinpark.JPG, The exterior of the Boudewijn Seapark dolphinarium

References

Bibliography

* J. Richards, ''Bus World Eagle Special'', Sunrise Enterprises, Woodland Hills CA, USA 1982. * E. Stauss, ''The Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses'', Sunrise Enterprises, Woodland Hills CA, USA . Sub-municipalities of Bruges Former municipalities of West Flanders {{WestFlanders-geo-stub

Bus & Car

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography