Monuments

The building was completed in 1421 but enlarged and adapted to the needs in the centuries that followed. The facade is richely decorated with gothic windows, towers, statues and the coat of arms of subordinate towns. Inside you should not miss the impressively decorated gothic room. There is also a museum on the ground floor.
The 14th Century Town Hall, with its long, elaborate windows, statues and octagonal turrets, was built in a splendid and dizzying Gothic style. It replaced the 9th century castle of Baldwin I, count of Flanders.

The Poortersloge was built at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century in the commercial heart of Bruges. This side of Bruges was the area where the international trade took place, ships were loaded and unloaded. In the immediate vicinity were the nationhouses of the most important trading partners and next door was the toll house, where goods had to cleared and tax was levied.

The Poortersloge (Burgher's Lodge) was the meeting place for the richer and more important members of the Bruges society.

At the time of its foundation its function was not limited to the health function but it also was a place where travellers could find shelter or the needy (in the broad sense of the word) could find help. So at that time it was more a guesthouse than a clinic. Gradually it evolved to a real hospital in the meaning we know now and it remained a working clinic until 1978 when a new modern hospital was built outside the town center. Nowadays it has a museum function and is a venue for exhibitions, congresses and other events.