Poortersloge

The original Poortersloge was built between ca. 1395 and 1417 and was destined to be the meeting place of the commercial elite of Bruges. The Society of the White Bear settled there. Founded in or around 1380, this Bruges knightly jousting club, long after the legendary exploits of Baldwin I, was given permission by the city to place the image of its mascot, a shield-carrying bear, in a niche in the facade. In the fifteenth century, the city became the owner of the Poortersloge. In the sixteenth century, the ground floor was used as a training room by the fencers' guild of Saint Michael. The Free Art Academy, founded in 1717, was located there from 1720 to 1890. A beginning of urban art collection was created and preserved there. Between 1805 and 1825, a new building was built in exactly the same style as an extension of the existing building and partly above the vaulted Kraanrei. A new stone tower was built. At the end of the nineteenth century, the State became the owner of the Poortersloge and housed the Bruges department of the State Archives in it. Two adjacent houses in the Academiestraat were purchased for expansion. In 1974 the Poortersloge was protected as a monument together with 75 other buildings in Bruges. In 2012, the State Archives moved to new buildings on Predikherenrei. The city of Bruges again became the owner of the Poortersloge in 2014. At the end of 2016, the building was given a function as an exhibition space for contemporary art.

The Poortersloge was built between 1395 and 1417 on behalf of the then commercial elite, the Bruges burghers. This district was then the hub of international trade. Ships were loaded and unloaded there. From the turret, traders could see their ships arriving. Trading nations built their nation houses in the immediate vicinity, where international representatives resided and goods were stored. Bruges burghers received their trading partners in the Poortersloge.



Between 1720 and 1890 the Poortersloge served as an art school. The Bruges Academy had their classrooms there. After the French Revolution, the Academy also housed works of art from demolished Bruges churches, including several panels by Flemish primitives. At the end of the 19th century, the building acquired its current appearance, and the Poortersloge, together with several adjacent houses, was restored and equipped as the State Archives from 1912. A hundred years later, the State Archives moved to a new building due to a lack of space.



Today the Poortersloge is a location for contemporary art in Bruges. A number of exhibitions are shown every year, ranging from thematic projects to presentations of private collections or solo exhibitions of contemporary artists.

Source: Visitbruges

The Poortersloge, also Bürgerhaus or Bürgerloge, is a listed building in Bruges, Belgium