More Bruges wanderings and a fairy-tale castle

This is the view which greeted us upon waking up on our second morning at B&B Het Soetewater. The morning fog was about to make way for another unseasonably warm and sunny day. The sun was gently illuminating the trees standing guard in their Autumn finery at the back of the meadow, the resident sheep playing hide-and-seek with the lingering veil of opalescent mist.

 

All traces of fog had disappeared into thin air by the time we were ready for breakfast, leaving a bright blue, almost cloudless sky in its wake.

Before making our way to the breakfast room in the main part of the B&B, we briefly wandered around the garden to admire the dried papery flower heads of the hydrangeas and the Michaelmas daisies which were still in their prime.

So, breakfast! You'll be glad to hear that Jos's appetite had returned, so that he was finally able to sample some of Veronique's delicacies. As you can see, he could hardly wait until I'd taken a photo of our breakfast table!

We'd decided on a day of two halves, starting with a morning of wandering around Bruges.

After once again leaving our car at the 't Zand car park, we now proceeded to walk into the opposite direction, taking a left turn instead of a right like we did on Thursday.

We had no agenda for our wanderings, our only aim being to soak up the atmosphere of this picture perfect UNESCO World Heritage city, which on this gloriously sunny November day, with its dome of cerulean blue sky, was looking particularly dreamlike.

And so it was that we found ourselves at the Leeuwenbrug (or Lion's Bridge), which crosses the peaceful Speelmansrei canal, where two almost pussycat-like lions are gazing towards the Belfry. 

The current bridge dates from 1627 and was built by Bruges master mason Jan de Wachter. In 1629, the parapets were decorated with two lion statues crafted by sculptor Jeroom Stalpaert, their front paws proudly resting on a shield bearing the gothic B of Bruges.

At the end of the eighteenth century, the lion on the western parapet was pushed into the water and replaced by a new one. In 1955, the second lion was replaced due to the poor condition of the stone.

Recently, the shields have been restored to their original appearance. During annual maintenance, it was determined that they were in urgent need of restoration. While cleaning, two different shades of blue were discovered. After further investigation, supported by a historical photograph from the image bank, it became clear that the darker shade of blue was the correct finish, so that the decision was made to repaint them in their authentic colour.

Soon our wanderings were making us thirsty, so we found a nice little café, called Salé et Sucré, where Jos enjoyed a glass of his favourite alcohol-free beer, while I opted for a cappuccino. 

Jos's beer came accompanied with a bowl of crisps which he devoured in no time. If that isn't proof that he'd regained his appetite, I don't know what is.

No matter how many times we've been here, Bruges continues to wow us. 

We ambled into the direction of Jan van Eyck Square, named after the world-famous master painter.

From the 13th to the 15th century, this was a lively port area where traders assembled from all over Europe. Bruges was the trading hub between the Hanseatic cities of the far North, England and Germany, and the main trading centres in France, Spain and Italy. 

In the Middle Ages a toll was levied here.  Pieter van Luxemburg, a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, used this money to rebuild the Old Tollhouse in 1477 (above, bottom right) and the late Gothic porch is therefore decorated with his polychrome coat of arms. The narrow building jutting out to the left of the porch is the Rijkepijndershuis, the guild house of the dockworkers.

Jan van Eyck square ends rather abruptly at the stone parapet of the Koningsbrug (King’s Bridge) which backs the majestic Spiegelrei canal, looking particularly splendid with the blue sky reflected in its gently rippling waters. 

Wandering through Bruges means revisiting old favourites, like the quirky Papageno sculpture (1980) in front of the Royal City Theatre (1869) with its neo-Renaissance façade.  The sculpture, which is by the Belgian sculptor Jef Claerhout (1937–2022), pictures the Papageno character from Mozart’s opera ‘Die Zauberflöte’ (The Magic Flute). See here for some close-ups.

There are some sculptures at the back of the theatre as well, by Jozef De Looze (1925-2011), one of which you can see in this collage), but we had yet to spot this tiny bronze frog, which sits almost unobtrusively on the railing around one of the flower beds at the front of the theatre. I squealed in delight when I finally found the little fellow.

Midday had come and gone? but instead of finding a place to have lunch, we grabbed some cheese and ham rolls and a drink, which we planned to have at our afternoon destination.

A mere 10-minute drive took us from the 't Zand car park to Loppem Castle in the village of Loppem, which lies to the south-west of Bruges. Those of you who have been here for a while might recall our previous visits, in August 2021 and April 2024. 

We parked our car in the leafy car park which lies at the end of a long and narrow cobbled drive, where we had a makeshift picnic amid a flurry of drifting Autumn leaves. 

Boasting the turrets, nooks and crannies you would expect to find in a neo-Gothic building, Loppem Castle seems to have been lifted straight from the pages of a book of fairy tales.

The castle has been in the van Caloen family since the 18th century, but has seen a number of changes over the generations. The current castle, which replaced an older, original manor house, was completed in 1863 and is considered an excellent example of Flemish neo-Gothic style. 

In 1856, the English architect Edward Welby Pugin (1834-1875) was commissioned by the future inhabitants, Baron Charles van Caloen and his wife, Countess Savina de Gourcy Serainchamps, to draw up plans for the castle. Later on, supervision of the building work was entrusted to the Belgian architect Jean-Baptiste Bethune (1821-1894), who gave a slightly more Flemish character to the building. 

Unlike many castles which evolved over the centuries, Loppem Castle was constructed in a single phase and, even though it was occupied by its owners for generations until 1940, the interior has remained almost completely untouched, with the original neo-Gothic architectural features and furnishings still present and correct, and thus maintaining much of its original design and charm.

The castle's entrance hall or vestibule was definitely built to impress. With its grand staircase and its vaulted ceiling, it is where guests were received and where van Caloen and his guests played billiards.

The stunning encaustic floor tiles were produced by Minton Hollis from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

Reaching up 17 metres from the floor, in polychromed wood with six bosses decorated with family coats of arms, the ceiling is a faithful copy of the 14th century vault of the gothic hall in Bruges' city hall.

The grand staircase's banister is composed of a hundred exquisitely crafted panels featuring native plants, animals and hunting scenes.

On the first floor, the two-storey, single-nave family chapel, with Jean-Baptiste Bethune's stained-glass windows depicting the family's patron saints, can be admired.

The chapel is housed in the prominent, corbelled sandstone bay crowned with octagonal spire at the front of the castle.

 

During World War I, the castle played a crucial role in Belgian military history. In October 1918, King Albert I of Belgium and his government used the castle as their temporary headquarters while planning the final offensive against German forces. It was here that key decisions were made about Belgium’s post-war future, adding an extra layer of significance to the castle’s legacy.

The castle and the park became the property of the Jean van Caloen Foundation in 1952 in order to protect the future of this exceptional heritage site. The park was opened to the public in 1974. One year later the castle was made accessible as well. Visitors cannot only enjoy the unique interior but also discover an important painting and sculpture collection.

The floor above the main Entrance Hall is where much of the art collections are on display;

Collecting started at the time of Charles van Caloen and Savina de Gourcy Serainchamps. They bought all kinds of art and antiques with which they decorated their castle: paintings, Chinese porcelain, glassware, hunting paraphernalia, Etc. 

The greatest collector, however, was their grandson Jean van Caloen. The collection he amassed is impressive. In addition to paintings and sculptures, he bought medieval manuscripts, master drawings, prints, ivory, alabaster, pottery and even baking moulds. His son Roland van Caloen was also a passionate collector, especially of Asian and African art.

There's so much to see that repeated visits are required to take it all in, so that it definitely won't be the last time we were here. If only it was to see my favourite object, the Waffle Angel! 

I was most disappointed upon learning that this wood, polychrome and gilt kneeling angel has nothing whatsoever to do with waffles or waffle-making. Made in Italy between 1425 and 1450, he or she was used to store relics.

While Jos was taking a breather and resting his feet on a bench, I strolled through the English-style park with its winding paths, ancient trees and intriguing red painted octagonal pavilion.

In 1866, a neo-Gothic building was constructed in the garden for Joseph, Charles' and Savina's eldest son. Named "Le Petit Musée” (the little museum), its was where the young Joseph could indulge his interest in art and house his collection of objects.

The castle and garden are actually on an island which can be reached by two separate bridges and, with the weather still holding, but the first of the clouds on the horizon, I crossed the one at the west side of the garden. Viewed from the lane at the back of the garden, the castle was looking particularly picturesque framed by the lake and the Autumn clad trees.

At the east side of the castle, another surprise awaited in the form of a German bunker (hidden behind the topiary hedges in the photo on the bottom left), built during the First World War as a shelter for the German officers who occupied the castle from the end of 1917.

The remainder of the day's blue sky had now been completely obscured by a layer of grey and, although rain didn't seem to be imminent, we decided to call it a day and return to the B&B.

As this was our last day, and we'd be going home on Saturday morning this, alas, is the end of my tiny Bruges travelogue. 

It'll be business as usual as from my next post onwards.

Thank you for reading and for your all of your lovely comments!