At the beginning of the present century, when the ship-canal from Bruges to Zeebrugge was opened, the "dead" city made an effort to revive her ancient prosperity, but the irony of fate willed that the new port should mainly serve the German invader. On October 13, 1914, amid the confusion which followed the fall of Antwerp, and whilst the remains of the Belgian Army were falling back on the Yser, the Germans entered Bruges, and there established the reign of terror under which Belgium suffered for four long years. Happily, Bruges, like Ghent and Brussels, came out of the War practically unscathed. From October 14, 1914 to October 19, 1918, Bruges was occupied by the Germans, with Admiral von Schroeder as Military Governor. Requisitions to the amount of some sixty millions of francs were levied; the factories were emptied of their machinery, and the warehouses of their raw materials. The bombardments did little damage. The maritime quarter, in which were the Imperial workshops, alone received a number of aeroplane bombs. [Illustration: +King Albert and Queen Elizabeth leaving the Hôtel Provincial+ _(October 25, 1918.)_] It was in this strictly guarded arsenal that the Germans assembled and repaired their submarines. Armour-protected shelters and concrete-covered docks for the submarines not on active service, provided security for the enemy's intense activities. Immense reservoirs of crude oil furnished the boats with fuel. Before leaving, the Germans destroyed these works. The floating-docks, drags, cranes, and port machinery, etc., belonging to Belgium, were wrecked. Sunken hulls blocked up the channels. Huge quantities of stores, including girders, reinforced concrete, sand, etc., were left behind on the wharves. After stripping the place of everything that could be carried off, after attempting to sell several captured boats which had been brought in there, and after blowing up the bridges, the enemy left the town. Through some mysterious and powerful intervention, the chimes in the belfry were left untouched, and as the Germans hurriedly departed, a peal rang out joyously. Flags and banners were taken from their hiding-places and hung in the streets and squares. "Bruges-the-dead" became "Bruges-the-living-and joyful". On October 25, 1918, amid indescribable enthusiasm, and to the strains of "La Brabançonne" and "La Marseillaise", rung out on the old belfry chimes, King Albert, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Leopold, accompanied by the General Staff, General Degoutte and Admiral Ronarc'h, re-entered the liberated city. [Illustration: BRUGES] Third Day. A VISIT TO BRUGES. _See Coloured Plan between pp. 88-89._ _To facilitate visiting the city, two excursions are indicated, both of which start from and return to the Grand'Place._