Café Vlissinghe: Five Centuries of Flemish Ale

Why is it significant?

Step across the threshold of Café Vlissinghe at number two Blekersstraat and enter living history. First documented in city tax records in fifteen fifteen during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fifth, this venerable tavern has poured beer continuously for over five hundred and ten…

Key Facts

Open the walk

Step across the threshold of Café Vlissinghe at number two Blekersstraat and enter living history. First documented in city tax records in fifteen fifteen during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fifth, this venerable tavern has poured beer continuously for over five hundred and ten years, making it the undisputed oldest continuously operating pub in Bruges. The whitewashed facade on Blekersstraat features small-paned sash windows, green wooden shutters, and an antique wrought-iron hanging sign depicting a merchant sailing ship named the Vlissinghe.

The tavern was originally founded on Blekersstraat, the bleachers' street, where local textile workers spread freshly washed linen across open meadows to bleach under the Flemish sun. Thirsty bleachers, canal barge workers, and parish priests gathered around the peat stove to drink brown ales from earthenware flagons. In the eighteenth century, the tavern served as the meeting hall for the local Saint Roch guild, whose members gathered here to socialize, drink ale, and contribute to communal funeral funds for deceased neighbors.

A famous local legend claims that Peter Paul Rubens visited the tavern in the seventeenth century while travelling between Antwerp and Bruges. Lacking money to pay for his drinks, the great master reportedly painted an extraordinarily realistic fly on the wooden tabletop; when the landlord tried to swat the insect away, he recognized Rubens' genius and waived the bill.

Look around the cozy interior: ancient oak beams darken the ceiling, an antique cast-iron stove radiates gentle heat in the corner, and walls are lined with vintage photographs of local bowling clubs and portraits of nineteenth-century tavern regulars. In the walled back garden, patrons still play the traditional Flemish bowling game of krulbol on summer afternoons. Today, the tavern pours an exclusive house ale called Vlissinghe, brewed specially to commemorate its five-hundredth anniversary, served alongside hearty plates of Flemish paté, aged Gouda cheese, and mustard.

Turn left out of the tavern down Blekersstraat, cross the canal, and walk up Carmersstraat to the grand iron gates of the Royal Archers' Guild of Saint Sebastian.