Overview
A 1950 newspaper report describing the supposed landing of a Martian flying saucer in Bruges, Belgium, has been identified as an April Fools’ hoax, not evidence of an extraterrestrial encounter. The account appeared on the front page of Burgerwelzijn on March 31, 1950, one day before April 1, and claimed that a large spacecraft had landed on the Burg, a historic square in central Bruges.
According to the report, the object measured approximately 45 meters across and had destroyed a truck during the landing. No injuries were reported. Authorities allegedly restricted public access to the site while specialists prepared to examine the craft. The story was later presented as a deliberately fabricated newspaper event, complete with photographs and an elaborate narrative involving visitors from Mars.
The Alleged Landing
Under the dramatic heading “Flying Saucer Lands on the Burg in Bruges,” Burgerwelzijn announced that “the whole city” was in an uproar. The report stated that experts and government officials would arrive the following morning by aircraft at Lombardsijde airfield, then travel by car to Bruges.
The newspaper claimed that the public would eventually be permitted to view the saucer while specialists investigated its construction and operation. It also described large crowds gathering around the Burg, with police and gendarmes reportedly deployed to control access. Viewing periods were announced for the following day, from 11 a.m. to noon and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The story added a civic detail intended to make the event appear particularly disruptive: the morning session of Bruges’ municipal council was said to have been postponed. A public meeting concerning the city budget was instead scheduled for 5:15 p.m.
“Twenty-Six Living Beings”
The most unusual claims concerned the alleged occupants. Burgerwelzijn reported that 26 living beings had been found inside the saucer and transported to a camp at St. Kruis, where professors supposedly attempted to communicate with them.
One occupant was reportedly photographed for the newspaper. The beings were described as very small, with a single eye and lips resembling a narrow tube made from “Securit” material. The article further claimed that they were being fed an unidentified liquid.
The newspaper identified the beings as inhabitants of Mars and labeled the pictured figure “de bevelhebber,” or “the commander.” A separate image of the alleged commander appeared alongside the purported saucer photograph, reinforcing the story’s presentation as a news report rather than a fictional sketch.
Historical Context and Significance
The timing of the publication is the central clue to its character. Appearing on March 31, the report was positioned immediately ahead of April 1, a date long associated with practical jokes and fabricated news stories. Its increasingly theatrical details—including the scheduled public viewing, the postponed council session and the bizarre physical description of the occupants—were elements of a local newspaper prank.
The case illustrates how UFO stories can acquire an appearance of authenticity through contemporary newspaper formatting, photographs and specific references to places, officials and schedules. Without those details, the Bruges report might resemble an early flying-saucer claim; with them, it functioned as a carefully staged April Fools’ feature. The available source identifies the episode as a hoax and provides no evidence that a spacecraft, extraterrestrial beings or a genuine investigation existed.
