This photochrome print of the Maison du Franc in Bruges is part of “Views of Architecture and Other Sites in Belgium” from the catalog of the Detroit Publishing Company (1905). The Maison du Franc, also known as Landhuis van het Brugse Vrije (Palace of the Liberty of Bruges) was built in the 1720s, on the basis of the designs of the architect Jan van der Cruycen, and stands at the center of Bruges on the site of an older, 16th-century building. The structure, whose architecture reflects classical and baroque elements, is named after the Liberty, an administrative district that surrounded Bruges in the Middle Ages. The building was once used as a courthouse and later came to house the administrative offices of the city council of Bruges. Architecture, Baroque; Architecture, Classical; Canals; Government buildings