Excursion
Date
Wednesday, 6.11.2019
Organised by
Carole Ampe, Wim De Clercq, Mariebelle Deceuninck, Roland Dreesen, Jari Hinsch Mikkelsen, Jan Trachet, Dieter Verwerft and Chris Vynckier
Excursion programme
The excursion will travel from Bruges through the Polder area to the Belgian coast. The medieval town of Bruges is developed on the verge of the cover sands with the tidal landscapes to the north. This landscape position was an advantage in many aspects, but a challenge for trade, as Bruges was accessible only through a highly dynamic system of tidal gullies. Export and import occurred through a system of trade hubs along the tidal gullies. During the excursion the importance and wealth of this extended harbour system will be highlighted and the location of several of these trade hubs will be visited. The aim of the excursion is to highlight the complex soilscape and geomorphology of the region. The cover sands were overgrown by peat that later got buried below estuarine sediments. This offers unique soils and landscapes with up to three very different living surfaces that were potentially inhabited.
8:30 - 9:00 Meeting at the bus stop: Bruges Bargeplein (Bus parking)
9:00 Departure
9:15 - 10:00 Damme Parking South - Walk on the ramparts of Damme
10:00 - 10:30 Visit to the Church of Damme - Stony migrants in Bruges port landscape (Roland Dreesen, UGent)
10:30 - 11:30 City hall of Damme
- Coffee break
- Welcoming by Joachim Coens the mayor of Damme (10.45)
- Presentation on the lost Zwin ports (Wim De Clercq, UGent)
11:50 - 13:00 Lunch at De Nieuwe Blauwe Toren
13:20 Soils and landscapes of Zeebrugge harbour (Zeevaartstraat, Brugge)
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(Jari Mikkelsen & Dieter Verwerft, Raakvlak)
14:40 Historical meadows of the polders (Heistlaan, Knokke-Heist)
(Carole Ampe and Chris Vynckier, VLM; Jari Mikkelsen and Dieter Verwerft, Raakvlak)
16:00 - 17:00 Sincfala, museum of the Zwin area
- Coffee break
- Visit to the expo Romans in the Zwin Area )
17:30 Arrival Bruges Bargeplein (Busparking)
Practical aspectS
You will need field shoes. For the clothes we recommend you to check the meteorological previsions.
Fees
50 Euros.
The excursion fee includes two coffee breaks, lunch, water, transport by bus and an excursion guide.
Registration
All the places are booked and therefore the incriptions for the excursion are CLOSED.