{"id":3141,"date":"2018-03-29T11:23:42","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T09:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doloresherrero.com\/?p=3141"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:00:01","slug":"gargoyles-in-bruges-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doloresherrero.com\/en\/gargoyles-in-bruges-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"Gargoyles in Bruges (Belgium)"},"content":{"rendered":" \r\n

In today's post we're off to Belgium<\/a> to see some gargoyles <\/a>in the beautiful city of Bruges.<\/p>\r\n

Apart from the wonderful gargoyles on major buildings such as the City Hall, the Burghers' Lodge (Poortersloge) and the Provincial Palace (Provinciaal Hof), which we'll see in future posts, you can also find some distinctive gargoyles on the Old Customs House and the Post Office building.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The Old Customs House in Bruges<\/h2>\r\n

What is now Jan van Eyck Square (Jan van Eyckplein), with its statue of the Flemish painter erected in the 19th century, was originally the bourgeois and financial heart of Bruges and a Medieval centre for trade from 1200 onwards. The square is surrounded by magnificent buildings, some of which were restored in the 19th century. They include the Old Customs House (Het Tolhuis).<\/p>\r\n

The Old Customs House (Het Tolhuis) dates back to 1477 and has undergone a series of rebuilding and restoration work. It was where taxes for imported goods were paid. It's worth remembering that a major commercial port sprang up around the Bruges canals. In the 19th century, the Old Customs House went from fulfilling a commercial function to being a cultural centre, although the ground floor also housed a fire station up until the 1960s. Next door is the Porters' Lodge (Pijndershuisje) which was where the dock workers gathered in the Middle Ages.<\/p>\r\n

On the Old Customs House there is a superb gargoyle, a winged quadruped<\/a> with bat's wings<\/a> and a goatee beard giving him a devilish appearance<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n\n\t\t