Gruuthusemuseum (Gruuthuse Museum)

In the museum you can journey through three crucial periods in the history of Bruges. First of all, there is the city’s Burgundian heyday, followed by the previously underexposed period during the 17th and 18th centuries, before finishing with the ‘rediscovery’ of Bruges in the 19th century neo-Gothic style that is so typical of the city today. These three periods are brought to life by more than 600 exhibits, each of which has its own story to tell. From majestic tapestries to Gothic stained glass, from elegant wooden sculptures to refined historical lace, from the paintings of different periods to a 17th and 18th century dinner table, set with silver cutlery and luxurious Chinese porcelain. The motif running through the display is ‘Plus est en vous’ (There is more in you (than you think)), which was the motto of Louis of Gruuthuse, the man who first gave the palace its spectacular grandeur in the 15th century.