In 1561, the city council commissioned local artist Marcus Gerards to create a detailed map of Bruges. Its purpose was to show that the city was easily accessible by sea.
In the 16th century, the silting of the Zwin, Bruges' lifeline, was accelerating. This made it harder for merchant ships to sail from the North Sea to the city. To a trading metropolis such as Bruges, that was a real concern - and so the city council had a new canal to the sea dug: the Verse Vaart. On the map, it is the middle of the three waterways running from the city to the left.
Gerards' map was to advertise the canal, luring traders and other visitors by showing how easy it was to sail into the city. To add extra emphasis to that message, Gerards even misrepresented reality and depicted the distance between Bruges and the sea as much shorter than it really was. He also drew the channels much wider.
Marcus Gerards has created a masterpiece: a meticulous, three-dimensional representation of all the city's houses, gates, mills, waterways, streets and squares. The map is unique in its kind and gives a stunning picture of what Bruges looked like in the 16th century. In fact, you can use it to this day to find your way around the city.