ANYONE who has seen the film 'In Bruges' will know all about the Gothic beauty of the city Newcastle United are visiting this week.

Brugge's entire city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has remained largely unchanged for the best part of eight centuries.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, Brugge was the most important and prosperous city in Europe thanks to the growth of the cloth and lace trade.

It became the major trading hub for the north of Europe with ships entering its port from all over the world and developed commercial and financial institutions that cemented the city's power and prestige. The Bourse, which was opened in 1309, was the world's first stock exchange.

With their new-found wealth, the members of the Court of Flanders built a fortified castle to defend the central square, a series of canals to transport their goods – leading Brugge to be known as the 'Venice of the North' - and a host of architecturally impressive buildings that are still standing to this day.

Their presence attracts thousands of visitors every year, yet while their erection was a direct result of Brugge's economic growth, the fact they have remained unaltered is largely due to the city's subsequent rapid decline.

In the early 16th century, disaster struck Brugge when the Zwin channel silted up. Suddenly, the city had no access to the coastline. Trade dwindled, the city's richest residents left to set up new commercial hubs in Antwerp and Brussels and, over the course of the next 150 years, Brugge's population dropped from 200,000 to just 50,000.

In the 1800s, it was referred to as the 'dead city' and while infrastructural improvements took place in Belgium's other major centres, Brugge was left untouched.

That led to hunger riots and social upheaval, but meant the city's historic heart was preserved as a giant museum piece.

As tourism increased in the latter half of the last century, so the authorities realised that a lack of development was Brugge's unique selling point. Hence the lack of glass skyscrapers or modernist architecture in a city that instead boasts a host of pretty narrow streets and cobbled squares.

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BRUGES or Brugge? That is the question.

Belgium has three official languages – Dutch, French and German – and the city is known as Bruges in French and Brugge in Dutch.

The French-speakers are Walloons and tend to live in the south of the country or in the capital, Brussels, which is a predominantly Francophone city.

The Dutch-speakers tend to be Flemish and live in the north and west of Belgium, where Bruges/Brugge is located.

On the evidence of the last two days, French is hardly spoken here at all, with Dutch by far and away the most popular and widely-used language.

Hence, on all its signs and addresses, the city refers to itself as Brugge, and Newcastle face Club Brugge this evening rather than Club Bruges.

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TONIGHT'S game is Newcastle's eighth European match against Belgian opposition, and they are yet to taste defeat.

Prior to last month's game with Club Brugge at St James', their most recent trip to Belgium saw them face Zulte Waregem in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup in 2007, a game that resulted in a 4-1 aggregate win.

However, the club's most famous Belgian connection relates to a player rather than a team from that country.

Phillipe Albert made more than 100 appearances for Newcastle after joining from Anderlecht in 1994 and etched his name into club folklore with an unforgettable chip in 1996's 5-0 win over Manchester United.

He was back on Tyneside for the first game with Club Brugge in his role as a television analyst, and will be at the game tomorrow to offer his views. Sadly, though, the moustache has gone.