the plague in bruges Albert Clarysse
The Bruges region had to endure regular plague epidemics, interspersed with sporadic deaths from the same disease, between the panEuropean Black Death of 1347 and 1669. The civic authorities responded in the late fifteenth century with an increasing number of measures. All waterways and wells were cleaned, stray dogs killed and infected houses marked. Infected people and those who cared for them were quarantined. An official was appointed in 1563 with the task of registering infected houses, and pesthuysen were set up on Magdalenaveld in 1602, to which plague victims could be brought. A ‘Health Chamber’ (Camere van Ghesontheyt) was founded in Bruges in 1603, following the example of several other European cities. This
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took a number of measures to combat the spread of the disease and to ensure the proper
care of plague victims. It is evident from these measures that the powers-that-be realized that
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