The Burg, a public square just steps away from the Markt, holds an array of beautiful buildings, which together add up to a trip through the history of architecture. On this site, Baldwin Iron Arm, Count of Flanders, once built a fortified castle (or "burg"), around which a village grew up that developed into Bruges.
The recently restored Oude Civiele Griffie (Old Civic Registry), built beside the Town Hall as the offices of the Town Clerk, has the oldest Renaissance facade in the city, dating from 1534 to 1537, and now houses the city archives. Facing the Town Hall is the baroque Proosdij (Provost's House) from 1665 to 1666, which used to be the residence of the bishop of Bruges and is now occupied by government offices of West Flanders province. Next to this building is a romantic modern bronze sculpture, The Lovers.
One "attraction" you won't see on the square is the Cathedral of St. Donatian, which dated from around 950 and survived until anti-clerical, pro-French revolutionaries demolished it toward the end of the 18th century. You can sometimes visit what's left of the cathedral's foundations, in the cellar of the Crown Plaza Brugge Hotel.
