Leave all stones unturned, please: Belgian city tells tourists to stop stealing its cobblestones
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As a Unesco World Heritage site, the picturesque medieval city in Belgium is a popular travel destination in Europe.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Tourists visiting Bruges, a Unesco-listed site in Belgium, have been urged to stop taking cobblestones from the historic city’s streets.
About 50 to 70 cobblestones go missing each month, said local politician Franky Demon, reported CNN.
During the peak season, even more bits of the city’s streets are lost to the hands of visitors seeking a free souvenir.
The entire city of Bruges, also known as Brugge, was added to the list of World Heritage sites in 2000 and is famous for its brick Gothic buildings.
The city welcomed an average of 27,000 visitors a day in 2024, reported The Brussels Times.
“While some may see this as harmless or quirky, the consequences are serious,” Mr Demon reportedly said, adding that missing or loosened stones create tripping hazards for residents and visitors.
Repairs cost about €200 (S$290) per square metre, he said.
Mr Demon also criticised the lack of respect that the thieves show for the city. In one instance, a “perpetrator” reportedly replaced a missing stone with a flower.
“A whimsical gesture, but one that underscores a lack of respect for our shared heritage,” said Mr Demon, as quoted by CNN.
“We simply ask for respect. Walking through Bruges means stepping through centuries of history,” he said.
“These cobblestones are not just pieces of stone – they are part of our city’s soul. We urge visitors to enjoy Bruges, but to leave its beauty intact for others.”
Worldwide, tourists have long been criticised for taking sand, seashells, and various knick-knacks as mementos from holiday destinations.
In some cases, arrests were made.
In 2023, a tourist was arrested after an attempt to take pieces of marble from the Acropolis – an ancient citadel – in Athens. According to Business Insider, citing local media, the tourist claimed to have been unaware that it was illegal to do so, and alleged that no damage was caused to the monument as the marble had fallen off.
In 2018, two tourists were caught trying to steal bricks from a crematorium in Poland’s Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp, as a souvenir. They were each fined US$400 and given a suspended one-year jail sentence, according to the New York Post.
And in 2017, four tourists visiting Italy were fined €1,000 each, after they took sand from the Italian island of Sardinia, a spot known for its beautiful beaches. Islanders have long complained about beachgoers swiping Sardinia’s natural assets, reported the BBC.
