Damme

Seven kilometres northeast of Bruges, connected by a ruler-straight poplar-lined canal, lies Damme — a village so small and picturesque that it feels like Bruges' quieter, more self-possessed sibling. In the 13th century, Damme was anything but quiet. It served as the outer port of Bruges, the point where sea-going ships transferred their cargo to smaller vessels for the final journey up the canal to the city. At its peak, Damme was one of the most important trading posts in Flanders, handling the wine, wool, and herring that fuelled the medieval Flemish economy.

When the Zwin channel silted up and Bruges lost its access to the sea, Damme went down with it. The village shrank from a prosperous port town to a sleepy farming community, and like Bruges itself, the economic decline preserved its medieval character. The Gothic Town Hall from the 15th century still stands on the market square, far too grand for a village this size — a permanent reminder of Damme's former wealth. The Church of Our Lady has a ruined tower that was partially demolished by Napoleon's troops for building materials in the early 19th century, which is the kind of vandalism that only an occupying army can pull off with a straight face.

Damme is famous in Flemish literature as the birthplace of Thyl Ulenspiegel, the trickster folk hero whose adventures were immortalised by Charles de Coster in his 1867 novel. A statue of Ulenspiegel stands in the village, and the local museum tells his story. Whether Ulenspiegel was a real person or a literary invention is debated, but Damme has claimed him with the confidence of a small town that knows a good tourism hook when it sees one.

The best way to reach Damme from Bruges is by bicycle along the canal path, lined with Lombardy poplars that create a green tunnel in summer. The ride takes about twenty-five minutes, and it is the finest cycling in the Bruges area.