Description
The legend of the golden dragon (Gulden Draak) says that it was first presented on the prow of the ship with which the Norwegian king Sigurd Magnusson (Sigurd Jorsalfar) sailed in 1111 to go on a crusade. Sigurd offered the statue to the emperor of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) to place in the dome of the Hagia Sophia. More than a hundred years later, the Flemish count Baldwin IX had transported the piece to the regions of Belgium. The Norwegian dragon ended up in the hands of Bruges. After the battle on the field of Beverhout in 1382, the inhabitants of Ghent took their spoils of war, including the dragon, and placed it on top of their bell tower, where all communal letters were kept. The dragon had to protect these documents and was also the symbol of the city's freedom and power. The brewmaster looked at this statue and was founded with inspiration to create and thus name the beer.