The Bruges City Hall is one of the oldest city halls in the entire Netherlands region. It is located in Burg Square, the area of the former fortified castle in the centre of Bruges, Belgium. After a fire in the city's Belfry in 1280 the old Ghyselhuus, which had already fallen into disuse as the jail of the count of Flanders, became the meeting place for the city council. In 1376 the Ghyselhuus was pulled down and replaced by a new purpose built council building. Count Louis laid the foundation stone. Responsibility for its construction was given Jan Roegiers, and the project was completed, eventually, in 1421. The City Hall is the earliest late Gothic monumental-style municipal council building in Flanders or Brabant: its flamboyant opulence testifies to the city's economic and political