The Arrondissement of Bruges ( nl, Arrondissement Brugge; french: Arrondissement de Bruges) is one of the eight administrative

arrondissements An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'', ...

in the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It is both an

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Bruges also comprises the municipalities of the

Arrondissement of Ostend The Arrondissement of Ostend ( nl, Arrondissement Oostende; french: Arrondissement d'Ostende) is one of the eight administrative arrondissements in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. The Administrative Arrondissement of Ostend consists of ...

, most of the

Arrondissement of Tielt The Arrondissement of Tielt ( nl, Arrondissement Tielt; french: Arrondissement de Tielt) is one of the eight administrative arrondissements in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. History The Arrondissement of Tielt was created in 1818 and or ...

(except the municipalities of

Meulebeke Meulebeke (; vls, Mullebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Meulebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Meulebeke had a total population of 10,980. The total area is 29.35& ...

Dentergem Dentergem () is a municipality, located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dentergem proper, Markegem, Oeselgem and Wakken. On January 1, 2006, Dentergem had a total population of 8,188. The total ar ...

Oostrozebeke Oostrozebeke (; vls, Ôostrôzebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Oostrozebeke proper. On January 1, 2018 Oostrozebeke had a total population of 7,849. The total ar ...

and

Wielsbeke Wielsbeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Ooigem, Sint-Baafs-Vijve and Wielsbeke proper. On January 1, 2018, Wielsbeke had a total population of 9,584. The total area i ...

), as well as the municipality of

Lichtervelde Lichtervelde () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Lichtervelde. On January 1, 2006 Lichtervelde had a total population of 8,400. The total area is 25.93 km² which g ...

(in the

Arrondissement of Roeselare The Arrondissement of Roeselare ( nl, Arrondissement Roeselare; french: Arrondissement de Roulers) is one of the eight administrative arrondissements in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. The Administrative Arrondissement of Roeselare consi ...

History

The Arrondissement of Bruges was created in 1800 as the first

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

in the

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Lys ( nl, Departement Leie). It originally comprised the cantons of

Ardooie Ardooie (; vls, Ardôoie) is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Ardooie proper and Koolskamp. In 2006 Ardooie had a total population of 9,147. The local inhabitants are called Ardoo ...

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

Gistel Gistel () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Following local government boundary reforms in 1971 and 1977, the municipality has comprised not only Gistel, but also the towns of Moere, Snaaskerke and Ze ...

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

Ruiselede Ruiselede (; vls, Ruuslee; historically Ruysselede) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. This town only comprises the town of Ruiselede proper. On January 1, 2006, Ruiselede had a total population of 5,113. The total ...

Tielt Tielt (; french: Thielt) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Tielt proper and the villages of Aarsele, Kanegem, and Schuiferskapelle. History Some traces of Gallo-Roman occu ...

and

Torhout Torhout (; french: Thourout; vls, Toeroet) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henricus, and the hamlet of De Dri ...

. In 1818, the arrondissements of

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

and Torhout were created. This resulted in the arrondissement losing more than half of its territory. The Arrondissement of Torhout already ceased to exist in 1823 and the canton of Torhout was added to the Arrondissement of Bruges again. As a result of the merger of the municipalities of 1977, the village of

Wijnendale Wijnendale is a village located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It belongs to the municipality of Torhout. Wijnendale is situated at 4 km from the city center of Torhout, halfway in between this city center and Ichtegem. The villag ...

(which was added to

and was part of

Ichtegem Ichtegem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders 15 km southwest of Bruges. The municipality comprises the towns of Bekegem, Eernegem and Ichtegem proper. On January 1, 2006 Ichtegem had a total population of 13 ...

prior to that) was added to the arrondissement from the

and the then municipality of Wenduine (which was merged into De Haan) was ceded to the Arrondissement of Ostend.

Municipalities

The Administrative Arrondissement of Bruges consists of the following

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

: *

Beernem Beernem (; vls, Beirnem) is a rural municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders, located southeast of Bruges. The municipality comprises the towns of Beernem proper, Oedelem and Sint-Joris. On January 1, 2006 Beernem had a total popula ...

Blankenberge Blankenberge (; french: Blankenberghe; vls, Blanknberge) is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke. On 1 December 2014, Bla ...

Damme Damme () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge (Bruges). The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the villages of Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerke, S ...

Jabbeke Jabbeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Jabbeke proper, Snellegem, Stalhille, Varsenare and Zerkegem. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 13,572 inhabitants. The t ...

Knokke-Heist Knokke-Heist (; french: Knocke-Heist) is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heist-aan-Zee, Knokke, Duinbergen, Ramskapelle and Westkapelle. On January 1, 2006 Knokke-Heist had a total ...

Oostkamp Oostkamp (; vls, Ôostkamp) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp had a total populatio ...

Zedelgem Zedelgem (; vls, Zillegem) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Aartrijke, Loppem, Veldegem and Zedelgem proper. On January 1, 2019, Zedelgem had a total population of 22,8 ...

Zuienkerke Zuienkerke (; vls, Zuunkerke; french: Zuyenkerque) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Houtave, Meetkerke, Nieuwmunster and Zuienkerke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zuienker ...

{{Judicial arrondissements of Belgium