Huidenvettersplein
Medieval tanners' square opening onto a swan-filled canal view near the city's most photographed corner.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Huidenvettersplein in Bruges follows the tanners who set up here in the 1300s, running cattle hides through vats of lime and dung right beside the canal that carried their waste back downstream. It traces how the smell and filth eventually pushed the trade out to the edges of the city, leaving behind only the square's name and a guild hall with a lion-topped column. From there it turns to the canal itself and the swans still gliding over it, and the old story locals tell about why they never leave. Look down from the Rozenhoedkaai corner and you'll likely spot one drifting past.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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