Five centuries ago, Bruges was home to the Flemish Primitives. At the time, Bruges was one of the most important cities in Europe: an international centre of trade and meeting place for foreign merchants. It is this medieval Bruges through which we are guided by Till-Holger Borchert, director of the Bruges Museums. The wealth of the city and its art-loving inhabitants attracted dozens of artists. The pioneers among the so-called Flemish Primitives – Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Dieric Bouts, Hugo van der Goes, and Gerard David – developed a new style of painting over the course of the fifteenth century that would make its influence felt as far as southern Europe.