Blankenberge is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke.
On 1 January 2005 Blankenberge had a total population of 18,135. The total area of the municipality is 17.41 km², giving a population density of 1,042 inhabitants per km².
There is a sandy beach and a structure unique along the Belgian coast: a 350-m long pier, constructed in 1933.

Blankenberge is a lively seaside resort on the Flemish coast. Along the renovated marina, with moorings for nearly 1,000 boats, there is always something to see or experience.
You can sniff up the fresh air, go for a stroll, enjoy a sunny terrace or watch the activities on and around the water along the "paravant" (screen). In the modern marina attention is also paid to Blankenberge's maritime past. The Scute is an authentic seaworthy replica of an old Blankenberge fishing boat. The boat can be visited and tours on the Scute are also possible.
Currently an historic pilot cotter is being replicated. You can watch activities in the yard during a walk around the marina. The maritime fleet will be completed in the autumn of 2005 with an authentic shrimp boat dating back to approximately 1940. The restoration of the historic boat is currently in full swing. On the quay near the "embarcadero" there will also be, in addition to the authentic shrimp boat, “half” a fishing boat, which will be a true crowd puller and on which performances will also be organised. In the marina-linked industrial zone, near the Bevrijdingsplein, a ship shed will be erected in which old historic boats will be built or renovated..

Historic city in northwest Belgium; capital of West Flanders province, about 96 km/60 mi northwest of Brussels and 16 km/10 mi from the North Sea, to which it is connected by canal; population (2003 est) 117,200. The port handles coal, iron ore, oil, and fish; local industries include lace, textiles, railway cars, ships, communications equipment, processed food, industrial glass, beer, furniture, motors, and tourism. Bruges was the capital of medieval Flanders and, at its zenith during the 14th century, was mainland Europe’s major wool-producing town as well as its chief market town.

Bruges was founded in the 9th century, and by the 11th century it became a centre of trade with England. By the 12th century it was recognized as the most important town in, and the capital of, Flanders; it was here that the counts of Flanders were proclaimed. During the 13th and 14th centuries Bruges claimed equal place with Ghent, and was the recognized centre of the Hanseatic League in Northern Europe. It was one of the chief wool-processing centres of Flanders, and (with a population of some 200,000) kept its premier position among the trading towns of Europe before suffering a decline in the 15th century, partly due to the silting up of the estuary on which the town was sited. The Order of the Golden Fleece was instituted here by Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, in 1430. Bruges was captured by the French in 1794, and became part of the united Netherlands in 1815. Later, in 1830, it became a part of the kingdom of Belgium. The commercial and industrial revival of the city began only in 1895, with start of extensive repairs to the port. The canal connecting Bruges with Zeebrugge (on the North Sea) was opened in 1907.
The city owes its name to the fact that it originated at a bridge (brug) over an inlet of the sea.