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3. Route. 39
Palais de Justice. BRUGE
of the present structure (see p. 35) still dates from the original
building (erected in 1434) and includes the Court Room (Chambre
Echevinale or Vierschaar), with the *Cheminée du Franc, a magni-
ficent Renaissance chimney-piece, executed in 1529-30 by Guyot
de Beaugrant and others (custodian in the court, behind; see p. 24).
The chimney-piece occupies almost the entire W. side of the room and
part of the ceiling. The lo , with a 15th cent. iron brasier, consists of
black marble, y hite marble on the fri representing
the history of The upper part, which is of carved oak, was exe-
cuted from d
the sculptor
finely carved and nearly lifesize, represent
Charles V. (in the centre) ount of Flanders, wearing the insignia of the
Order of the Golden Fleece, his paternal ancestors Mary of Burgundy and
Maximilian of Austria on the left, and his maternal ancestors Ferdinand
of Aragon and Isabella of Castile on the right of the spectator. The throne
is embellished with busts of Philip le Bel and Johanna of Castile, the
parents of Charles; and on two small medallions are portraits of Lannoy,
the victor at Pavia, and Margaret of Austria. The medallions held aloft
by children contain portraits of Francis I. and his wife, Eleonora, sister of
Charles V. The whole is decorated with genii, foliage, and the armorial
bearings of Burgundy and Spain.
The tapestry on the walls was manufactured at Ingelmunster (p. 50)
in 1859, in imitation of the original, of which portions were found in
the cellar. Above is a series of full-length portraits of rulers of the
country. An interesting representation of the room is shewn in a picture
by @. van Tilburg, dating from 1659. The two brass inkstands in this
room date from 1566 and 1634.
53.
On the groundfloor of the Palais de Justice are the Provincial
Archives (open on week-days, 9-3).
At the corner of the Rue dela Bride, on the W. side of the
square, is the Prévote (Pl. ©, 5), or Landhuis van den Proossche,
a beautiful late-Renaissance structure, built in 1662 after plans by
Fr. van Hillewerve, and restored in 1908-9. This was originally
the seat of the Provost of the cathedral, who was ex officio Chan-
cellor of Flanders from 1089 onwards; it is now used for the offices
of the government of the province, and has been completely modern-
ized in the interior. Adjacent to the Place du Bourg, on the N., is
another Place, planted with trees, which was formerly the site of
the church of St. Donatian, the old cathedral of Bruges, destroyed
in 1799 by the French.
2
c. North-West Quarter of the City.
In the Rue Fossé-aux-Loups (Pl. A, 4, 5) or Wulfhage-Straat, the
first side-street running to the N. from the Rue Nord-du-Sablon (p. 26),
is the Huis de Visitatie (No. 24; to the right), an attractive private
house in the Renaissance style (16th cent.; restored in 1897), with
a relief of the Visitation.
The Cour des Princes, the fourth side-street farther on, is named
from the Cour des Princes, once the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy
(comp. p. 37), the site of which is now occupied by a modern Gothic
nunnery, the Couvent des Dames du Sacré-Coeur (Pl. B, 4). In this
palace the nuptials of Charles the Bold with Margaret of York were |