Bruges - Poorters Loge

Dominating Jan van Eyckplein is the Poorters Loge, a striking 14th C. building with a slender tower. Once a sort of club for the merchant burghers of Bruges it now houses the city archives.

Several figures decorate the facade, most notably that of the bear, "Beertje van de Logie", which dates from 1417. (A bear also appears on Bruges's coat of arms.)