Mr Monkey scurried along Vlamingstraat and Academiestraat to Van Eyckplein. He stopped to look up at a statue of a bear on the wall of the Poortersloge (Burgher's Lodge). Wealthy burghers of Bruges used to meet foriegn merchants here, but now it houses the Belgian State Archives. The bear gets dressed up on special occassions, but Mr Monkey didn't think that his clothes fit properly. In Van Eyckplein Mr Monkey looked at the statue of Jan Van Eyck made in 1878 by H. Pickery. This replaced an 1820 statue that everyone thought was too small.
You can read about the archives at the State Archives in Belgium website.
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 6 November 2007