Brugge railway station

50A, 51, 58, 66

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The Station Brugge (Dutch Station Brugge) is the main railway station of Bruges and one of the main railway stations in Belgium. He has connections to Brussels and Ostend ( Route 50A), Bruges - Kortrijk ( Route 66) and Bruges Blankenberge ( Route 51); other routes run north to Zeebrugge ( route 51A ) and northeast to Knokke - Heist ( line 51B ). Between 1863 and 1959 there was a further connection ( route 58) to Eeklo.

History

On August 12, 1838, the route Ghent - Bruges was inaugurated in the presence of King Leopold I and Queen Louise. On 28 August of the same year the route Bruges - Ostend, the routing in Bruges followed today's roads King Albert I- Laan and Hoefijzerlaan followed. In the first years acted a former police station ( Corps de Garde ) as a temporary station until 1844 station building was the first, designed by architect Auguste Payen in the classical style opened.

The building was too small The opening of routes to Kortrijk in the years 1846-1847 and Eeklo and Blankenberge in 1863 and 1886 was replaced by the second station. This was built in the Gothic Revival style, designed by the Antwerp architect Jozef Schadde and possessed as a platform roofing a glazed iron construction.

Due to the location of the station and the tracks of the western part of Bruges was separated ( Boeveriestraat and Smedenstraat ) from the rest of the city. Apart from a (very often closed ) railway crossing existed only a few pedestrian tunnel; the traffic in the direction of Sint- Michiels, Sint -Andries, Torhout and Gistel was thus very cumbersome. For this reason it was decided in 1899 to relocate increases within the city on a newly constructed dam, the tracks and build a new railway station on the southern edge of the old downtown.

Construction began in 1910, but was interrupted by the First World War for a long time. It was not until 1935, the line was further expanded, and 1936 was the first trains in 1939 then taken and the new railway station in operation. Designed by the architect Jos Van Kriekinge and Maurice Van Kriekinge building was officially opened on 1 April 1939 and is still in operation today. The second station was demolished in 1947-1948 and converted back to the station area to an open place. The southern railway tracks have been converted to King Albert I Park, the northern track bed is the present day Hoefijzerlaan.