Explore The History Of Bruges At The Burg Square

The massive City Hall

As soon as you enter the Burg Square from the direction of Bruges’ Main Square (Grote Markt), a massive medieval building standing in the middle of the City Hall, and the Basilica of the Holy Blood will catch your eyes. Originally built in 1376, the City Hall building is still used for administration paperwork, with offices on the top floor. There’s a museum with a free multimedia exhibition on the first floor. Come upstairs to take a look at the impressive Gothic Hall - an absolute masterpiece, with many century murals, a polychrome vault, authentic documents, and other various works of art.

City Hall through time

In 1946, a major fire started in the City Hall, spreading from the Registry Department to the rooms upstairs. The rebuilding started in 1950, with the walls being decorated in 1980 with mural paintings salvaged from a mansion on the Garenmarkt. In 1972, the French Revolution did not leave Bruges unscathed. On the 13th of December (1972), all statues, coats of arms, and other symbols of the Old Regime were removed from the Town Hall, and locked up in St. Basil’s Chapel.

The golden Palace of Justice

Standing next to the City Hall is the Palace of Justice, the outer part, in fact, is painted with real gold. Nowadays, the palace’s space is used for a couple of offices,and a museum. Here you can find the largest fireplace in Europe. The ticket price to the City Hall is 3 EUR/3.50 USD for youngsters under 26, and 4 EUR/4.50 USD for adults, this also includes a free visit to the palace. The Town Hall and Palace of Justice is open everyday from 9.30AM to 5PM, except for national holidays.

Brugse Vrije Museum

Nowadays, a part of the Palace of Justice is used for the Brugse Vrije Museum. The liberty of Bruges, or the castellany of Bruges, was a territorial subdivision of the county of Flanders, with its own administrative, financial, and judicial powers.

In 1528, the Liberty of Bruges commissioned the Bruges artist Lancelot Blondeel to design the monumental fireplace in honor of Emperor Charles V. This is considered one of the most important Renaissance artworks in Bruges. To build the fireplace in wood, alabaster, and marble, the councillors relied on the skilful hands of the sculptor Guyot de Beaugrant.

The spiritual Basilica of the Holy Blood

Lying on one side of the City Hall, The Basilica of the Holy Blood is certainly the most famous church in Bruges, but not because of the famous movie, In Bruges, being shot outdoors here. During the making of In Bruges, film director Martin McDonagh was not allowed to film inside the Basilica. Thus he had to film the interiors of the Jerusalem Church for a certain scene.

The church is famous for the old holy blood that was claimed to be Jesus’s blood after his crusade. This is very important for the catholic community in Bruges, as the blood is taken out once a year for a big ceremony in May. National Geographic once did a DNA study on the blood a few years ago, and proved that the blood does date back to centuries ago when the crusades happened. However, the blood does not belong to Jesus, due to at least a one thousand year difference!