The Bruges Public Library is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Since its foundation in 1796 the Public Library of Bruges has functioned both as a public library and a special collections library. The core of the special collections consists of ca. 600 medieval

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

, ca. 70

incunables An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the ...

, and the library and archives of the poet

Guido Gezelle Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium. He is famous for the use of the West Flemish dialect, but he also wrote in other languages ...

(1830-1899). The largest portion of medieval manuscripts are the ca. 490 manuscripts from the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

abbeys of Ten Duinen (°1138) and Ter Doest (°1175), which include a large set of illuminated manuscripts produced in Flanders. Another important part of the collection are the ca. 70

illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * Illuminated (song), "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also

books of hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

from, among others, Flanders, the Netherlands and France. The incunable collection includes

woodcuts Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with Chisel#Gouge, gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts ...

and

engravings Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an inta ...

, e.g. in

Colard Mansion Colard Mansion (or Colart, before 1440 – after May 1484) was a 15th-century Flemish scribe and printer who worked together with William Caxton. He is known as the first printer of a book with copper engravings, and as the printer of the fi ...

's ''Metamorphoses'' and

Hartmann Schedel Hartmann Schedel (13 February 1440 – 28 November 1514) was a German historian, physician, humanist, and one of the first cartographers to use the printing press. He was born and died in Nuremberg. Matheolus Perusinus served as his tutor. ...

's ''Liber chronicarum''. The special collections include works by artists like Willem Vrelant, the Master of Guillebert de Metz, the Master of the Tall Figures (Beaufort Group),

Hieronymus Hieronymus, in English pronounced or , is the Latin form of the Ancient Greek name (Hierṓnymos), meaning "with a sacred name". It corresponds to the English given name Jerome (given name), Jerome. Variants * Albanian language, Albanian: Jeroni ...

and Antonius Wierix, and

Michael Wolgemut Michael Wolgemut (formerly spelt ''Wohlgemuth''; 143430 November 1519) was a German painter and printmaker, who ran a workshop in Nuremberg. He is best known as having taught the young Albrecht Dürer. The importance of Wolgemut as an artist rests ...

. Most of the books from the special collection are digitalised and can be consulted online through the library's catalogue.

History

The public library of Bruges manages one of the most important collections of

and historical journals in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. In 2011 the library received the licence of recognized heritage library by the

Flemish Community The Flemish Community (, ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilities only within the precise geographical boundaries of the Dutch-language area and of the ...

. The core of the collection stems from library of the former

abbeys of Ten Duinen (°

Koksijde Koksijde (; ; ) is a town and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in Belgium. It is located on the North Sea coast in the southwest of the Flanders, Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises apart from Koksijde, the v ...

, 1128) and Ter Doest (°

Lissewege Lissewege () is a sub-municipality of the city of Bruges located in the province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1971. On 1 January 1971, it was merged into Bruges. Lissewege also includes Zeebrugge ...

, 1175). In 1804 the city of

was entrusted with the conservation and management of the collection of both abbeys after they were confiscated by French revolutionaries under the authority of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. The extensive collection was moved to the Gothic Hall of the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. The library was later relocated to the Jan Van Eyck square in 1883 due to a lack of space in the City Hall. In 1986 the library was moved to the Kuiperstraat, where it still is to this day.

Public Library

The public library of Bruges has twelve branches spread across the city and its neighbourhoods, with Biekorf being the main library. The different branches are located in: *

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...

* Dudzele *

Koolkerke Koolkerke () is a sub-municipality of the city of Bruges located in the province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1971. On 1 January 1971, it was merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are busin ...

* Sint-Jozef * Sint-Pieter *

Sint-Kruis Sint-Kruis (; ) is a sub-municipality of the city of Bruges located in the province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1971. On 1 January 1971, it was merged into Bruges. Gallery File:Sint-Kruis ...

* Assebroek *

Sint-Andries Sint-Andries () is a sub-municipality of the city of Bruges located in the province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1971. On 1 January 1971, it was merged into Bruges. The Jan Breydel Stadium, whe ...

Sint-Michiels Sint-Michiels () is a sub-municipality of the city of Bruges located in the province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1971. On 1 January 1971, it was merged into Bruges. The amusement park Boudewi ...

According to the annual report from 2019, the main library and its branches lent nearly one million books to its more than 500,000 visitors. The library also organises lectures and workshops for different age groups.

Special Collections Library

The core of the special collections consists of ca. 600 medieval manuscripts, ca. 70 incunables, and the library and archives of the poet Guido Gezelle (1830-1899). The Bruges Public Library preserves 798 manuscripts in total, of which 576 are medieval and 222 are post-medieval. The largest portion of medieval manuscripts are the ca. 490 manuscripts from the Cistercian abbeys of Ten Duinen (°1138) and Ter Doest (°1175). Another important subcollection are the ca. 70 illuminated

Books of Hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

from, among others, Flanders, the Netherlands and France, and medieval copies of urban chronicles, e.g. the ''Excellente kroniek van Vlaanderen''. Not all manuscripts are property of the Bruges Public Library, 31 manuscripts of the Stichting van Caloen and one manuscript of the

King Baudouin Foundation The King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) (, KBS; ) is a foundation based in Brussels (Belgium). It seeks to change society for the better and invests in inspiring projects and individuals. The Foundation was set up in 1976, on the occasion of the 25th ...

are in long-term deposit at the library. The Bruges Public Library does not only preserve the manuscripts, it also participates in Mmmonk and ARMA, two projects with the aim to digitalise the manuscripts so that they are accessible to a larger public. These manuscripts are not the only old texts preserved in the library, there also is a collection of

incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

and rare books. The focus is on old prints, which originate from Bruges. The eye-catchers in this collection are the incunabula from the Flemish printer

(1476-1484). To this day, the Bruges Public Library is still acquiring old prints, in order to achieve the ultimate goal: collecting the entire Bruges book production and offering it to the public. Another important collection is the

Archives and Library. The Gezelle Archive contains some 10,000 items including more than 2000 poetry manuscripts from his own hand. The other items are mostly letters; Gezelle's letter collection is very extensive and the library has about 7600 letters. In addition to his own manuscripts and his letters, the Gezelle Library preserves some 1000 books from Gezelle's private library. This contains mostly linguistic, religious and didactic books, as well as books on Germanic and alien folklore. A large part of this collection has already been digitalised, and is accessible from home. The Bruges Public Library also has a large collection of historical newspapers. The oldest preserved newspaper is the '' Nieuwe Tijdinghen'', which appeared from 1637 until 1645 and was printed in Bruges by Nicolas Breyghel. The next newspaper was the ''Vaderlandsch Nieuwsblad'' (1792-1793), followed by the ''Brugsche Gazette'' (1795-1796) and the ''Gazette van Brugge'' (1797-1919). Bruges had a very rich press in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Besides many single issues, the collection of the Public Library contains 64 titles and more than half a million pages, most of which can be consulted online.* https://erfgoedbrugge.be/collection-pagina/historische-kranten/ In addition to these main collections, ten smaller collections, originally private collections of Bruges citizens, were transferred to the Bruges Public Library in the course of the 20th century. These are the Fonds Cuvelier, the Fonds voor Maritieme Geschiedenis en Visserij, the Fonds Decoene, the Fonds de Giey, the Fonds De Zeine, the Fonds Dochy, the Fonds Engels klooster, the Fonds English, the Fonds Kring Zeevaart en Overzeese belangen and the Fonds Mertens.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.2099, 3.2228, type:landmark_region:BE, display=title Libraries in Belgium Buildings and structures in Bruges Libraries established in 1796