General. The Burg square is the administrative heart of the town and the oldest part of Bruges.  On this place, count Baldwin with the Iron Arm built his castle by the end of the 9th century.  That castle is no longer there, but the name of the square still refers to it.  The gothic town hall and the seat of the "Franc of Bruges" (Het Brugse Vrije) have a dominant spot on the square.  On the square we can see the following important monuments:

The basilica of the Holy Blood.  This basilica consists actually of two chapels: the lower chapel, called the crypt and the upper Holy Blood chapel.  The most important relic of Bruges is safeguarded in this basilica. It's located in the corner to the right of the town hall.  The small building next to it is the criminal registry [more info]

Town hall.  The town hall of Bruges is one of the oldest in the Low Countries and stood example for town halls that were built lateron in other towns.  The richly decorated facade demonstrates the power the civil administration had [more info].

The manor of the Franc of Bruges.  Text will follow shortly.

The registry of the Franc of Bruges.  Text will follow shortly.

The Deanery of Saint-Donatian. The former deanery is one of the few buildings in baroque style in the center of Bruges.  It was built between 1662 - 1665 and is the only building of the Saint-Donatian complex that survived the demolition during the French occupation. Behind the deanery lays the official residence of the governor.

The remains of Saint-Donatian's cathedral.  Saint-Donatian's cathedral was the most important religious building in Bruges until its demolition at the end of the 18th century.  The remains of the cathedral have been restored and lay below the square and the Crowne Plaza hotel [more information]

Picture 1: Registry of the Franc of Bruges ("Brugse Vrije")
Picture 2: The deanery of Saint-Donatian