In the center of the Market stands the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck. The statue not only honors these two leaders of the 'Battle of the Golden Spurs' which took place on the 11th of July 1302, it is perhaps more so a clear statement of the political leaders of the 1880's that the cause for Flemish emancipation was something that the Belgian government had to take notice of. Both Breydel and de Coninck participated in the 1302 uprising of the Flemish against the occupation by the French king, known as the Battle of the Golden Spurs'. This battle was also the central theme of the book 'De Leeuw van Vlaanderen' (the lion of Flanders) written by Hendrik Conscience in 1838. He romanticized the Flemish uprising and it became a symbol of the Flemish movement which fought for recognition of the Dutch language and Flemish culture in the French-language dominated Belgium of the 19th century.