The Kontor of Bruges was the Hanseatic kontor, one of the Hanseatic League's four major trading posts, in Bruges, County of Flanders. A kontor was a corporation (universitas) with a level of legal autonomy in a foreign non-Hanseatic city, the one of Bruges was formally organised in the 14th century. Bruges was a major Flemish port in the high and late Middle Ages. Flanders was a fiefdom of France until the Treaty of Senlis was signed in 1493, after that it belonged to the Holy Roman Empire.
The main trading good in Bruges was Flemish broadcloth, and other Flemish cloths, but Bruges was a cosmopolitan city with merchants from many parts of Europe and the Mediterranean so the selection of available goods in Bruges was large. In addition the presence of a kontor meant there was a Hanseatic staple in cloth and certain imported goods. The Kontor of Bruges stood out because the Hanseatic League's activity wasn't concentrated on a few buildings and Hansards instead were spread over the town. A special building was only acquired in the 15th century. As a result, Bruges had the most integrated kontor. Another way that the kontor stood out was that it was often moved away to other places when there were conflicts with the city or the county.
Bruges did not lie directly next to the North Sea but was reached by the Zwin, a tidal inlet that was formed by a storm in 1134. The ports Damme and Sluis lay on the inlet and gave access to Bruges. The Zwin began to silt progressively up in the 13th century. It harmed trade by the middle 15th century and in the 16th century the Hanseatic League decided to move the kontor to Antwerp, where the Oostershuis was built for it.