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Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
European city pleads for 'respect' as tourists keep stealing forbidden item
Tourists travelling to Belgium are literally picking apart centuries of history in the fairytale-esque city, where authorities have now pleaded with visitors to show some 'respect' Most travellers leave a European city break with a fridge magnet or maybe a cute vintage scarf, but it turns out some people are taking much more damaging keepsakes - bits of the actual street. That's what's happening in Bruges, the fairy-tale-like city in Belgium that's also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Officials are now begging tourists to stop stealing the city's historic cobblestones, which date back to the Middle Ages. Bruges, which attracts over 8 million visitors every year, is best known for its chocolate shops, charming canals, and old-world vibes. But behind the picture-perfect views, locals say the city is literally being picked apart by overbearing tourists who want to take a piece of it home. Franky Demon, a city councillor, says Bruges is losing between 50 and 70 cobblestones every month. And while it might seem harmless to lift a loose one from the ground, replacing them costs €200 (£168) per square metre - a price that's quickly adding up. 'We ask for nothing but respect,' he told The Brussels Times. 'Walking in Bruges means treading on centuries of history. Please leave these stones where they belong.' It's not just the cost - the theft is damaging some of the city's most iconic areas, including the Grand Place, Vismarkt, the Gruuthuse Museum and the Lake of Love known as Minnewater - a romantic beauty spot that's sadly seeing more empty patches than ever. While heritage plays a huge part in the city's charm, it's also a safety issue. With so many of Bruges' visitors exploring the town on foot, gaps left by missing stones are becoming trip hazards, turning scenic strolls into risky ones. Over on Reddit, both tourists and locals have been weighing in with suggestions to fix the problem. Some have called for fines and tougher penalties, while others say replicas should be sold in gift shops to stop people from taking the real deal. CCTV has also been suggested, but for many users, it's baffling as to why anyone would want to steal a cobblestone in the first place. One local shared: 'I once caught a tourist digging a stone out of the street. I told them horses have been s***ting on it for decades. They didn't listen and took it anyway.' The cobble chaos is just one example of overtourism hitting major European destinations. Bruges has already slashed cruise ship arrivals to limit footfall. Meanwhile, Venice has doubled its tourist tax and Palma has capped tour group sizes.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
In Bruges? Don't steal the cobblestones, locals say
Drugs, sex, murder, attempted murder, black humour - all are to be found amid the mayhem that is the 2008 film "In Bruges", starring Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell as a pair of Irish gangsters trying to hide out in the Belgian city famous for its medieval-era heritage and old town. But one thing the flick does not have is people stealing the city's famous cobblestones, which were made from porphyry quarried from Wallonia, a rock prized for its durability. According to city alderman Franky Demon, light-fingered visitors are helping themselves to at least 50 of the cobblestones every month, apparently to take home as souvenirs. "At iconic sites such as the Minnewater, the Vismarkt, the Markt and the Gruuthusemuseum, an estimated 50 to 70 cobblestones disappear every month and the true figure may be even higher still," Demon told Belga, the national press agency. The number of stolen stones probably increases during the summer as visitor numbers soar, according to the official. Not only does yanking the stones out of the ground undermine the city centre's renowned aesthetic, it leaves pedestrians vulnerable to taking a tumble, particularly elderly walkers who can be frail or less nimble than others. "Anyone that walks through Bruges is walking through centuries of history," Demon said, exhorting would-be thieves to "leave the cobblestones where they belong." But perhaps it is not such a surprise that Bruges would be the setting for such acquisitiveness: after all, it was the home town of Doctor Evil from the Austin Powers film series, a character who described himself as the son of a "relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery."
Time Out
19-05-2025
- Time Out
This European city is urging tourists to stop stealing cobblestones
Plenty of us feel that a little part of every city we visit stays with us once we've arrived home, but tourists in Bruges are reportedly taking things a bit too literally. City councillor Franky Demon has urged tourists to stop picking up cobblestones from the city's streets to take away as souvenirs, as it shows the city great disrespect. The old town of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage site, after all, yet iconic local spots like Vismarkt, Minnewater, the Grand Palace and the Grutthuse Museum are apparently losing between 50 and 70 cobblestones each month. While that figure might not sound too crazy, there are two reasons it's a problem. The first of these is the simple fact that it's damaging to the city's heritage. 'We ask for nothing but respect. Walking in Bruges means treading on centuries of history,' said the councillor, according to The Brussels Times, 'Please leave these stones where they belong.' Then there's the cost of repairing them. Not only are the gaps left by missing stones a hazard for pedestrians, but filling them in again costs around €200 per square metre.
