Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, two heroes of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, are known far beyond the Bruges borders. They were also the heroes in Hendrik Conscience's book "The Lion of Flanders". It is therefore not surprising that the two heroes were immortalized in 1887 with a statue on the Bruges Market square.
Due to friction between the Flemish-minded Breydel Committee and the French-speaking Bruges city council, the statue was introduced to the public twice. The first time on 11 July 1887 in Flemish by the Breydel Commission; a second time on August 15, 1887, this time in French and in the presence of King Leopold II.
 |
| Picture by Piwabay |
The pedestal of the statue is by Louis Delacenserie, the architect of, among others, the neo-gothic in Bruges. However, the bronze statue of the two folk heroes is the work of Paul De Vigne, a Ghent sculptor. He learned his trade with his father sculptor Pieter De Vigne who sculpted the statue of Jacob van Artevelde on the Vrijdagmarkt square in Ghent.