Bruges is a city in Belgium and the capital of the West Flanders Region of the country; it is also the largest city of the province. Bruges called Brugge in Flemish forms part of the World Heritage Site of UNESCO. The population of Bruges consist of a bit over one hundred thousand. Bruges is the home to the College of Europe, an independent university institute founded in 1949 by Hendrik Brugmans and Karel Verleye. Bruges is a very clean city compared to others areas of Belgium. In the first century BC were constructed the first fortifications after Julius Caesar Menapii’s conquest, the fortifications were to protect the coastal region against the pirates. With some of the canal northern cities as seen on the above picture, Bruges is sometimes called “The Venice of the North”. Most of the medieval architecture buildings of Bruges are still intact and these attract a large number of tourists to the area. Some of these buildings include the Church of Our Lady which is also one of the highest brick buildings of the world, othe popular buildings of Bruges are the Old St John’s Hospital, the City Hall, the Beguinage, the Basilica of the Holy Blood and many others.