Jacob van Artevelde

The bronze statue of Jacob van Artevelde stands in the center of the Vrijdagmarkt, a square that has served as the city's commercial and political stage for centuries. Created by the sculptor Pierre De Vigne-Quyo and unveiled in eighteen sixty-three, the monument depicts a man in fourteenth-century attire with one arm outstretched. He is positioned to point consistently toward England, a gesture that reflects his role as the leader who navigated Flanders through the early years of the Hundred Years' War.