The Groeninge Museum is also called 'The city museum of Fine Arts'. The collection was already started in the beginning of the 18th century, but the building itself is recent and dates from 1929-1930. The name 'Groeninge' refers to the nearby 'Groeninge straat' (= Groeninge street), but also to the Groeninge fields in the city of Kortrijk (Courtrai) where in 1302 the army of the Flemish defeated the army of the French king. The collection in the museum spans several centuries (from the 14th to the 20th century) and focuses primarily on works by painters who lived and worked in Bruges.

History
The Goeninge Museum was built in 1929-30 on land belonging to the former Eeckhout Abbey. The district in which it stands has been called 'Groeninge' (because of its greenery) since the thirteenth century. The museum was built with the intention of centralizing the city's collection of paintings and above all of providing an appropriate setting for the world-famous 'Flemish Primitives.' The municipal collection was split in 1898 on the foundation of the Museum of Modern Art at the former Jesuit school on Verwersdijk. The pre-eighteenth-century Old Masters were kept at the Academy until more suitable accommodation could be found. The new building was constructed nearly half a century later.

Description
This museum offers a rich and fascinating array of (primarily) Belgian artworks. Highlights include the world-famous collection of works by the Flemish Primitives, paintings by various Renaissance and Baroque masters, several interesting pieces from the Neo-classical and Realistic periods of the 18th and 19th centuries, milestones from the Symbolist and Modernist movements, masterpieces by the Flemish Expressionists and a varied selection of Post-1945 modern art.

Admission hours: every day from 9:30 > 17:.00 | Closing day: monday (except Easter & Whit Monday)

Entrance charges: € 8 / € 6 (audioguide and ticket Arents House and Forum+ included in the entrance) | Children under 13 years: free