Bruges Freiamt
The Bruges Freiamt ( Dutch : Brugse Vrije ) was the largest castellany in the county of Flanders . It included the area around Bruges and was bordered by the North Sea , the Westerschelde and the Yser .
The Bruges Freiamt had its own burgrave based in the castle in Bruges and, together with the three large cities of Ghent , Bruges and Ypres , was the only castellany to belong to the "Four Members of Flanders" since the end of the 14th century. The castellany also had a seat in the States of Flanders.
history
The castellany of the Bruges Freiamt had its origin in Flanderngau ( Pagus Flandrensis ). Gaue were administrative areas from the Frankish times. The center of the castellany was the castle in Bruges, in which the state house of the Bruges Freiamt is still located. The castellany was administered by a burgrave and some lay judges. Originally the city of Bruges belonged to the castellany, but from 1127 both went their separate ways.
In the 13th century the burgrave was replaced by a balivo (Vogt) over which the Count of Flanders had greater control. The city of Bruges tried several times to bring the Bruges Freiamt under its control, but the city administration failed because of the support of the ruler (who wanted to limit the power of the cities) for the castellany.
In the course of the Dutch uprising and the separation from the Northern Netherlands , the Bruges Freiamt lost many areas in what is now Zeeland Flanders at the end of the 16th century . The Bruges Freiamt itself remained in place until the end of feudalism by the French administration.
organization
In addition to a few cities with their own administration (including Torhout , Sluis , Hoeke , Gistel and Nieuwpoort ), the Bruges Freiamt comprised the following three parts:
- the “real Vrije”, these are the rural areas that are administered directly by the aldermen of the Freiamt;
- the “Appendants”: thirty estates with their own thing chair (court), which was not responsible for the high level of jurisdiction;
- the "Contributors": seven rulers that were completely independent in terms of jurisdiction and were only subject to the Bruges Freiamt in the tax area.
Provincial residence of the Bruges Freiamt
The administrative seat of the Bruges Freiamt was on Burgplatz , where both the civil and ecclesiastical administrations were housed. Originally the Freiamt had its seat next to Het Steen on the west side of the Burgplatz. In the 15th century it moved to the opposite side, where it was housed in part of the former Count's residence Love . The Burgundian dukes moved the count's residence to the newly built Prinsenhof . In the years 1434 to 1440 the Bruges Freiamt added a court ( Vierschaar ) on the south side towards Groenerei . In the years 1520 to 1525 the complex was extended to the canal with a new large court, the chamber of lay judges and a retreat. The builder was Jan van de Poele . A gallery with a round arch was built on the castle side between 1528 and 1532. In addition to the chamber of lay judges, a chapel and an orphan's chamber were added in 1606 and 1607. This is how the existing row of facades on the Groenerei was created . Finally, the part of the country house visible on Burgplatz, which had been considerably expanded through the purchase of the Love residence in 1555, was rebuilt in the classicist style between 1722 and 1727 according to a design by Jan Verkruys .
Listed on March 25, 1938, the building served as the courthouse of Bruges from 1795 to 1984. Next to the Assisensaal (which currently serves as a conference and exhibition room) is the Renaissance Hall. The monumental Kaiser Karl chimney from the 16th century, which was made from oak, marble and alabaster according to a design by Lancelot Blondeel, can be viewed in this former chamber of lay judges . It acted as a symbol of power for the Habsburg dynasty . Emperor Karl stands in the middle and is surrounded by his ancestors. In 1984 the city of Bruges acquired the building and housed some city services here, including the city archives, the reading room of which is in the chapel of the old chancellery . The Renaissance building was erected between 1534 and 1537 and was the seat of the head of the civil court, one of the city's most important officials. The facade was built entirely from natural stone and is richly decorated with sculptures. The bronze sculptures were made in 1883 by the Bruges sculptor Hendrik Pickery . The crabs on the gable tops are reminiscent of the Gothic style. The building was thoroughly restored three times: at the end of the 19th century, around 1980 and at the beginning of the 21st century. During the last restoration, an attempt was made to bring the building back to its original splendor.
literature
- James Weale: Le Palais du Franc à Bruges . In: Le Beffroi. 1872-1873.
- Jos De Smet: Het bestuur van het Graafschap Vlaanderen. Het Brugsche Vrije, de feodaliteit, de nobility. Bruges, Gidsenbond, 1941 (2nd edition).
- Adriaan Verhulst: Les origines et l'histoire de la ville de Bruges. In: Le Moyen Age. 1960.
- Luc Devliegher: De Keizer Karelschouw van het Brugse Vrije. Tielt, Lannoo, 1987.
- Marc Ryckaert: City Atlas van België. Brugge. Brussels, 1991.
- Eric Huys: Kasselrij van het Brugse Vrije (approx. 1000–1795). In: Walter Prevenier and Beatrijs Augustyn (eds.), De gewestelijke en local overheidsinstellingen in Vlaanderen dead 1795. Brussels, Algemeen Rijksarchief, 1997.
- Marc Ryckaert: De gevels van het Brugse Vrije. In: Brugge the scone. 2017.
- Jeroen Cornilly: Monumentaal West-Vlaanderen. Bruges, Uitgeverij Van De Wiele, 2003.