Kraanplein en Sint-Jansplein (Crane Square and St John's Square)

If squares could be friends, then Kraanplein and Sint-Jansplein would fall into that category. They are close to each other and share a rich past. For five centuries, the city crane stood at the Kraanplein. The gigantic wooden colossus lifted very heavy boxes and man-sized wine barrels into and out of the ships. If you dug a well here today, you would undoubtedly get wet feet, because the Kraanrei still flows underground. Don't do that, though, but walk to the Sint-Jansplein. This part of the city used to be called the 'Sint-Janszestendeel' (the section of St John), after the lost St John's Church. The medieval ‘zestendelen’ (the six sections into which the Bruges territory was subdivided) still form the basis of the Bruges land register. Do you see the subtle engraving ‘Futura Historiae Obstant’ on the roundabout's coping stone? Artist Titus Nolte is trying to say here that ‘the future is blocking the past’. Another thing the two squares have in common: a love of good food. You will find some fine restaurants and brasseries here.