The black wooden mansion facing the Astridpark in Bruges is something of a mystery. Dated 1573 on a small stone tablet, it looks authentic enough, but it is actually made from fragments of other buildings.
Local historians claim the wooden façade at Minderbroedersstraat 10 originally stood somewhere in Brussels, but no one in the Brussels city archives can confirm this.
It was apparently brought to Bruges in 1889, where it was incorporated into a house designed by the city architect Louis Delacenserie. The little spy mirror attached to the wall adds a sinister touch to a building no one really understands.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
