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Stop stealing the cobblestones, you heathens!

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/24/travel/belgium-bruges-tourists-stealing-cobblestones

Belgium’s picturesque city of Bruges has issued a request that tourists stop stealing cobblestones from its UNESCO-recognized medieval streets.

Local politician Franky Demon says an estimated 50 to 70 cobblestones disappear per month — even more during peak season — and it costs 200 euros (about $225) per square meter to replace them and fix the damage.

“While some may see this as harmless or quirky, the consequences are serious,” Demon told CNN. “The removal of cobblestones poses a clear safety risk to both residents and visitors. Missing or loosened stones create tripping hazards, and city workers must frequently be dispatched to carry out repairs.”

Demon said that one “perpetrator” apparently even took the time to replace a missing stone with a planted flower. “A whimsical gesture, but one that underscores a lack of respect for our shared heritage,” he said.

“We simply ask for respect. Walking through Bruges means stepping through centuries of history,” said Demon. “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.”

Posted by
10805 posts

Well obviously it's none of our super-light packers picking these up and taking them back home !!

Those of us who still check bags remain suspect however.

Posted by
7694 posts

My guess is few, if any, of the cobblestones are medieval. Like anything, they need to be replaced from time to time.

Edited: what I was thinking when I responded didn’t come out the way I meant it. What I meant was that those stealing the stones are probably not getting what they think they’re stealing.

After watching cobbled streets being installed on numerous trips to Europe, it’s hard work and expensive since it’s labor intensive. Definitely a tripping hazard when one cobble is missing. There is no reason to take one for a souvenir.

Posted by
3863 posts

I have no tolerance for such behavior from visitors. Saw this in other constellations at other places.

Posted by
22541 posts

jaimeelsabio, and when they replaced them, the pavers. If it was a dirt road to begin with, they replaced them with a type of stone paver that did not exist before the mid-19th century. Or at least that's what I see looking in pictures.

Still, the idea of stealing and vandalism is beyond my comprehension.

Posted by
3051 posts

My guess is few, if any, of the cobblestones are medieval.

They may be older than you think. Cobblestones last forever, and thus they are constantly being recycled. However, not a lot you see in Brugge is actually medieval. A lot is just 19th century neogothic...

Posted by
1251 posts

I have to ask what people do with such a cobblestone when they return home? Put it on the mantle? Do people even have mantles anymore?
Maybe just another brick in the wall.

Posted by
5038 posts

I remember my first European adventure in 2014 and we were in Rome and I was fascinated by all the loose Roman ruins laying around. I enthusiastically made the comment to my wife that it would be great just to pick some pieces up and bring them home. Not serious of course. The next day at our Forum tour our guide let us know that we may see a lot of ruins scattered about the city, but you couldn't take them. Maybe she read my mind, or maybe I'm not the first to think about it.

Posted by
358 posts

When Parisians do this it means it’s time for another revolution. Aux barricades! But that doesn’t appear to be what’s going on in Bruges. Perhaps rather than just be criticized by local politician Franky Demon (which I suppose means they have been demonized), violators should be stoned.

Posted by
2066 posts

Buried in the article is this common theme popular at CNN.

"Like Venice, Barcelona and other historic European cities, Bruges has been struggling to cope with overtourism."

It seems Venice, Barcelona and other historic European cities will be getting what they have asked for these past couple of years. Travel to Europe is predicted to be less. So, how long will it be before these cities begin to whine about tourism levels being down and how it is affecting the local economy? With tourism numbers declining will CNN and others who coined the overtourism word now coin another word of "undertourism"?

Posted by
2912 posts

Time for Bruges/Brugge to impose some sort of punishment for the offenders. Hopefully not the same flaying alive punishment depicted in the disturbing 1498 painting by Gerard David that hangs in Brugge’s Groeninge Museum.
A hefty fine should suffice.

Posted by
66 posts

I'm just trying to picture someone digging up a cobblestone. From the best I can recollect that would not be easy or fast to do.

Posted by
758 posts

Simply 'stealing' things on vacation is a kind of sport I guess for some people. I mean, the typical hotel towels... but cobblestones??

Although, a member of my family used to bring plants back from every vacation. Not ones that were bought, but mostly they were simply dug out of the ground. When we used to vacation together (long time ago), I would have always wanted to hide when that happened :-) So embarrassing. Especially since hardly any of those plants survived the German climate.

Posted by
1966 posts

The cobblestones that pushed my button were the ones made from chert (flint) in Rouen. I can't imagine wanting one so bad I'd dig it out, but that's a unusual rock for such uses. Very slippery when wet.

Posted by
864 posts

How do they know tourists are taking them? Maybe there is a beautiful garden patio in a Bruges suburb paved with cobblestones...

Posted by
66 posts

Maybe we've been in too much haste to reject this novel idea.

Dig up a cobble, plant a flower in its place.

Take a towel, leave a rose or a piece of candy.

Remove a piece of the Coliseum, leave a thank you note with some perfume on it.

I'm envisioning a Monty Python skit where a city is gradually removed until it's completely gone.

Posted by
1966 posts

Maybe there is a beautiful garden patio in a Bruges suburb paved with cobblestones...

The stones themselves are cheap, but the taxpayer costs to repair the roads are not.

Posted by
9390 posts

I know the dark cobblestones installed in the Frankfurt new Alt Stadt came from Viet Nam. A lot cheaper than from anywhere in Europe.

Posted by
3863 posts

In Kaiserslautern (Germany) four memorial stumbling stones were stolen recently - these are metal-made cobblestone-form memorials which remember in pavements of people who were once persecuted and murdered by the National Socialists. Such cases were also reported this year in Magdeburg, Lünen, Menden, Zeitz, Gotha, Cottbus, Weimar and Forst in Lusatia.

I consider this to be a serious and despicable crime, as there is much more at stake here than the value of the stolen item.

Full article in German language. I recommend using DeepL for best translation from / to German.

Posted by
22541 posts

MarkK, This isn’t about warped souvineer hunting this is something else. This has been going on in Germany almost since the day they were first laid. Nothing new, but a sad reflection on a segment of society. Disgusting. Choose any month any year and more of the same.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/29/europe/germany-holocaust-stumbling-stones-far-right-intl
https://www.dw.com/en/holocaust-victims-memorial-stones-stolen-in-german-town/a-70440162

Posted by
22541 posts

To Ms. Jo's point .... sort of.

Medieval streets were mostly dirt. Where stones were used, cobble stones generally looked like this: https://img.freepik.com/premium-photo/cobblestone-wall-medieval-castle-texture-stone-old-masonry_659987-12508.jpg

But what you will find today in most medieval tourist centers is more like this. This on the other hand is a modern invention using machine cut stone: https://hsnsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cobblestone-11.jpg

Much of what we see is fanciful recreation. But I enjoy it.

Posted by
2226 posts

Stealing stumbling stones is sad and the reason too as Mr Ë already remarks.

Living within an hour driving from Bruges the local newspapers have as far as I know nothing reported about theft of cobblestones. And that an international news network like CNN pays attention to this is a bit remarkable. Wouldn’t be surprised that a local newspaper will point to this article of CNN the coming days.

Maybe we still live under cobblestones here and have noticed nothing, but someone else does. If you still plan digging up one and discover a local underneath leave at least him or her alone. Thank you in advance.

Posted by
9390 posts

The Stolperstein belong on a thread of their own as they don't have anything to do with cobblestones. Stealing them is a completely different sort of theft too.

Posted by
480 posts

"I'm envisioning a Monty Python skit where a city is gradually removed until it's completely gone. "

And I'm envisioning a "Ship of Theseus" City

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

[snip]
The Ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus's Paradox, is a paradox and a common thought experiment about whether an object is the same object after having all of its original components replaced over time, typically one after the other.

edit: yours is funnier