This is Bruges at its finest! Bruges as it grows and flourishes long before and also after 1400. First as a centre of trade, gradually as a cosmopolitan European capital and finally as a splendid Burgundian city.
Marcus Gerards depicts Bruges in meticulous detail on these ten copper plates. As a mirror image, we should say, because the plates are for printing the map of Bruges. Mills, streets, buildings, nation houses, city palaces such as that of Louis de Gruuthuse, even 'jeu de paume' courts: you can actually see all the elements of Bruges city centre in this precursor to what we now call street view.
And water, lots of water. The city council, which commissioned this work, demanded that Marcus Gerards portray Bruges a little closer to the sea than it is in reality, and make the waterways wider than they really are. After all, the sea and the water are the lifelines of Bruges' successful economy and trade.
These copper plates and the map are pure public relations. They show the Bruges of the 15th century, but were made in ... 1562, primarily to promote a new canal, the Verse Vaart. Bruges wants to make a fresh start because things are not going well for the city at this time, when it risks losing its connection to the sea. Many traders are relocating to Antwerp.
All the more reason to advertise the glory and beauty of Burgundian Bruges, and the metropolis it was then, with its symbolic buildings: the Belfry, the Halls, City Hall... They also grace another exquisite piece in this room: the painting featuring the 'Seven Wonders of Bruges', another PR tool. Take your time and enjoy the hundreds of details! And the other objects in this room, of course. If you look closely, you’ll see that some originate from buildings that can also be seen on the copper plates!