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The Brugse Vrije was a
castellany A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant of ...
in the
county of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...
, often called in English "the Franc of Bruges". It included the area around
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
, and was bordered by the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, the
Westerschelde The Western Scheldt ( nl, Westerschelde) in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the W ...
and the
Yser The Yser ( , ; nl, IJzer ) is a river that rises in French Flanders (the north of France), enters the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows through the '' Ganzepoot'' and into the North Sea at the town of Nieuwpoort. The source of the Ys ...
river. The city of Bruges was separated from the castellany in 1127. Since then the city and the Vrije were considered as separate
customary law A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law". Customary law (also, consuetudina ...
areas. The Brugse Vrije was a rich agricultural region. It had its own burgrave, who was seated at the
Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * '' -burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aa ...
, a square in Bruges, and became part of the
Four Members The Four members ( nl, Vier Leden) consisted of Bruges, Franc of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres gathered together in a medieval parliament. Together they exercised considerable power in Flanders. During the Hundred Years' War, Jacob van Artevelde a prom ...
of Flanders at the end of the 14th century, together with the three major cities of
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
,
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
and
Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
. The Brugse Vrije sat in the meetings of the
States of Flanders The States of Flanders were a representative institution in the medieval and early modern County of Flanders. Initially it consisted only of the Third Estate, with representatives of the three cities of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. Around 1350 the rura ...
.


Organisation

The castellany of Bruges was founded at around the year 1000 under the rule of Count
Baldwin IV of Flanders Baldwin IV (980 – 30 May 1035), called the Bearded, was the count of Flanders from 987 until his death. Baldwin IV was the son of Count Arnulf II of Flanders (c. 961 — 987) and Rozala of Italy (950/60 – 1003), of the House of Ivrea.Detlev Sc ...
(980–1035) as part of the
county of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...
. The head of the castellany was a
burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especial ...
, who represented the
Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...
. The burgrave was replaced by a
bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
in the 12th century. The fief was first called the ''Castellany of Bruges'', but later took on the name ''Brugse Vrije''. In Middle Ages it was divided into
Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
s.


The Manor

The governing body of the Brugse Vrije was located at the
Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * '' -burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aa ...
, the square in Bruges where both the civil and eclessiastical administration were located. Initially the Vrije was seated next to the '' Steen'' (castle of the count), on the west side of the Burg. In the 15th century, the Vrije moved to the other side, where it took over a portion of the count's former court, the
Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
having moved their residence to the newly built . In 1434–1440 the Vrije added a tribunal to the southern side, facing towards , a canal in Bruges. In 1520–1525, the complex was extended along the row with a new high tribunal, the aldermen's chamber and an entrance-hall. The architect was Jan van de Poele. A gallery with high arches was built on the Burg-side in 1528–1532. In 1606–1607, a chapel was added next to the aldermen's chamber and in 1664–1666 an ''orphan room'', in which records of the castellany's orphans were kept. The still existing façades on the Groenerei side was built at this time. Lastly, the part of the manor that is visible on the Burg, and which was significantly enlarged by the purchase of the ''Love'' in 1555, was rebuilt in 1722–1727 in the Neoclassical style after a design by Jan Verkruys. The now classified as heritage (1938) building still exists in this form and was used from 1795 to 1984 as a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
. Now the building on the
Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * '' -burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aa ...
houses the city archives, with the reading room located in the chapel. Next to the old Court of Justice lies the renaissance hall. Located in this former aldermen's chamber of the old Palace of the Brugse Vrije, is the monumental 16th-century Emperor-Charles-fireplace, made of oak wood, alabaster and marble, designed by Lanceloot Blondeel.


See also

*
History of Bruges The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of Bruges, Belgium. Prior to 18th century * 865 Fort built by Margrave Baldwin I of Flanders. * 1000 Regional Brugse Vrije established (approximate date). * 1127 Count Charles I o ...
Image:Brujas01.JPG, The buildings of the Brugse Vrije on the 'Burg';
Left: the 18th century classicistic part of the former manor of the Brugse Vrije.
Right: the old civil registrar (built between 1534-1537). Image:"Groenerei", canal in Bruges, Belgium.jpg, The 16th century rear facade of the manor on the 'Groenerei'. Image:Brugge (Belgium) - Landhuis Brugse Vrije.jpg, The manor of the Brugse Vrije in the 17th century. Image:Jan Baptist van Meunincxhove - The Burg in Bruges.jpg, The 'Burg', painted c. 1691-1700 by
Jan Baptist van Meunincxhove Jan Baptist van Meunincxhove (c. 1620/25 – 1703/04) was a Flemish painter of cityscapes, architectural paintings, marine views and group portraits who was active in Bruges. Without being original, he maintained a high standard of painting at ...
, with in the background the manor of the Brugse Vrije and the old civil registry.


External links


Bruggemuseum-Brugse Vrije
{{Coord, 51, 12, 30.16, N, 3, 13, 39.25, E, source:nlwiki_scale:1563_type:landmark_region:BE, display=title County of Flanders History of Flanders History of Bruges Buildings and structures in Bruges