Statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck

This is the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, the two local folk heroes who played a major role in the Flemish resistance against the French king in 1302, resulting in the Battle of the Golden Spurs .

The statue was erected in 1887, the period of historical romanticism. Due to the friction between the Flemish -minded Breydel Committee and the French-speaking city council, the statue was inaugurated twice: on 11 July 1887 and between 14 and 22 August 1887.

For centuries there has been discussion among historians about the identification of the real Jan Breydel . After all, at least five people of the same name lived in Bruges at the beginning of the fourteenth century. There are two in particular that have been considered to be the hero of 1302. Jan Breydel comes from a family of butchers; Pieter de Coninck from a family of weavers.

Hzet monument refers to the Bruges Matins as well as to the battle of the golden spurs .

It is possible that Breydel, together with Pieter de Coninck, led the Brugse Metten (who could not say "shield and friend" was regarded as French-speaking and killed or captured), a revolt against Philip IV the Fair that led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs, although this is doubtful for both . After all , two weeks earlier , Pieter de Coninck had been threatened with death by some people from Bruges and had to flee to Zeeland . He only returned, together with Willem van Gulik, on May 23, 1302, so after the Bruges Matins of May 18, and was then triumphantly overtaken in Bruges. There was no mention of Jan Breydel in the chronicles of the event .

Willem Vandenameele