Belfries of Belgium and France

group of 56 historical buildings

The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings. They are part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe. It shows a design change from feudal and religious influence in historic Flanders and its neighboring regions of the Duchy of Burgundy.

Belfries of Belgium and France
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Belfry locations
LocationBelgium; north of France
Includes56 belfries
CriteriaCultural: (ii), (iv)
Reference943
Inscription1999 (23rd Session)
Extensions2005
Belfry of Bruges
Schepenhuis, Aalst
Cloth Hall, Ypres
Belfry of Tournai
Belfry of Mons

UNESCO included 32 towers of Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia in 1999. In 2005, the bell tower of Gembloux in the Walloon Region of Belgium and 23 others from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy regions were added to the renamed list. Brussels Town Hall and its bell tower were not included since was already part of the Grand Place World Heritage Site.

Additional six church towers were also added since they served as watchtowers or alarm bell towers. These include Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, St. Rumbolds Cathedral in Mechelen, St. Peter's Church, Leuven, St. Germanus Church in Tienen, the Basilica of Our Lady in Tongeren and St. Leonard's Church in Zoutleeuw.

Most of the buildings in the list are towers from bigger buildings. A few of them are restoration of towers previously connected to nearby bigger buildings.

Belgium

change

The ID numbers match the order in the complete list ID from 943 to 943bis from UNESCO.

Flanders

change

West Flanders

change
ID 943-004 Bruges Hallentoren belfry and halls
ID 943-006 Diksmuide City Hall and Belfry
ID 943-011 Kortrijk Hallentoren Belfry[1]
ID 943-014 Lo-Reninge (Lo) Town Hall with Belfry (at present a hotel)
ID 943-017 Menen City Hall and adjacent Belfry
ID 943-018 Nieuwpoort Stadshalle grain hall (market hall) with Belfry
ID 943-020 Roeselare City Hall, Stadshalle (market hall) and Belfry
ID 943-022 Tielt Hallentoren belfry, Cloth Hall and Aldermen's Chamber [2]
ID 943-025 Veurne Landhuis ("country-house", former seat of the Viscounty of Veurne-Ambacht) and Belfry [3]
ID 943-010 Ypres Cloth Hall with Belfry

East Flanders

change
ID 943-001 Aalst Aldermen's House with Belfry
ID 943-005 Dendermonde City Hall with Belfry
ID 943-007 Eeklo City Hall with Belfry
ID 943-008 Ghent Belfry, Cloth Hall and Mammelokker [4]
ID 943-019 Oudenaarde City Hall with Belfry

Antwerp

change
ID 943-002 Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady
ID 943-003 Antwerp City Hall [5] 
ID 943-009 Herentals Former City & 'Laken'(Cloth) Hall
ID 943-013 Lier City Hall and Belfry tower
ID 943-016 Mechelen St. Rumbolds Tower of the cathedral [6]
ID 943-015 Mechelen Old Cloth Hall with Belfry (now part of the City Hall complex)[7]

Flemish Brabant

change
ID 943-012 Leuven St. Peter's Church and tower
ID 943-023 Tienen St. Germanus Church with Stadstoren (City Tower)
ID 943-026 Zoutleeuw St. Leonard's Church

Limburg

change
ID 943-021 Sint-Truiden City Hall with Tower
ID 943-024 Tongeren Basilica of Our Lady with Stadstoren (City Tower)

Wallonia

change

Hainaut

change
ID 943-027 Binche Belfry of the City Hall
ID 943-028 Charleroi Belfry of the City Hall
ID 943-029 Mons Belfry
ID 943-031 Thuin Belfry
ID 943-032 Tournai Belfry
ID 943-056 Gembloux Belfry
ID 943-030 Namur Belfry

France

change

Nord-Pas de Calais

change
ID 943-033 Armentières Belfry of the City Hall 50°41′11″N 2°52′57″E / 50.68645°N 2.8824°E / 50.68645; 2.8824  
ID 943-034 Bailleul Belfry of the City Hall 50°44′23″N 2°44′04″E / 50.7397°N 2.7344°E / 50.7397; 2.7344  
ID 943-035 Bergues Belfry 50°58′05″N 2°25′58″E / 50.9680°N 2.4327°E / 50.9680; 2.4327  
ID 943-036 Cambrai Belfry of the St. Martin's Church 50°10′27″N 3°13′56″E / 50.1742°N 3.232127°E / 50.1742; 3.232127  
ID 943-037 Comines Belfry of the City Hall 50°45′55″N 3°00′26″E / 50.7653°N 3.0072°E / 50.7653; 3.0072  
ID 943-038 Douai Belfry of the City Hall 50°22′04″N 3°04′50″E / 50.3679°N 3.0805°E / 50.3679; 3.0805  
ID 943-040 Dunkirk Belfry of the City Hall[8] 51°02′15″N 2°22′36″E / 51.0376°N 2.3768°E / 51.0376; 2.3768  
ID 943-039 Dunkirk Belfry of Dunkirk[8](former church tower attached to Saint Eligius, in the 1700s transformed into a standalone municipal belfry) 51°02′08″N 2°22′35″E / 51.0356°N 2.3763°E / 51.0356; 2.3763  
ID 943-041 Gravelines Belfry 50°59′12″N 2°07′34″E / 50.9868°N 2.1261°E / 50.9868; 2.1261  
ID 943-042 Lille Belfry of the City Hall 50°37′50″N 3°04′11″E / 50.6306°N 3.0698°E / 50.6306; 3.0698  
ID 943-043 Loos Belfry of the City Hall 50°36′54″N 3°00′53″E / 50.61507°N 3.01477°E / 50.61507; 3.01477  

Pas-de-Calais

change
ID 943-044 Aire-sur-la-Lys Belfry of the City Hall 50°38′19″N 2°23′47″E / 50.6385°N 2.3963°E / 50.6385; 2.3963  
ID 943-045 Arras Belfry of the City Hall 50°17′28″N 2°46′37″E / 50.2911°N 2.7770°E / 50.2911; 2.7770  
ID 943-046 Béthune Belfry 50°31′52″N 2°38′21″E / 50.5310°N 2.6392°E / 50.5310; 2.6392  
ID 943-047 Boulogne-sur-Mer Belfry of the City Hall 50°43′30″N 1°36′48″E / 50.7250°N 1.6132°E / 50.7250; 1.6132  
ID 943-048 Calais Belfry of the City Hall 50°57′10″N 1°51′15″E / 50.9529°N 1.8542°E / 50.9529; 1.8542  
ID 943-049 Hesdin Belfry of the City Hall 50°22′23″N 2°02′11″E / 50.3730°N 2.0363°E / 50.3730; 2.0363  

Picardy

change
ID 943-050 Abbeville Belfry 50°06′26″N 1°49′58″E / 50.1073°N 1.8329°E / 50.1073; 1.8329  
ID 943-051 Amiens Belfry 49°53′44″N 2°17′46″E / 49.8955°N 2.2960°E / 49.8955; 2.2960  
ID 943-052 Doullens Belfry of the former Municipal Hall, at present the tourist information center 50°09′19″N 2°20′28″E / 50.1554°N 2.3410°E / 50.1554; 2.3410  
ID 943-053 Lucheux Belfry on the remaining City Gate 50°11′50″N 2°24′40″E / 50.1971°N 2.4112°E / 50.1971; 2.4112  
ID 943-054 Rue Belfry 50°16′21″N 1°40′07″E / 50.2725°N 1.6687°E / 50.2725; 1.6687  
ID 943-055 Saint-Riquier Belfry 50°08′03″N 1°56′47″E / 50.1342°N 1.9464°E / 50.1342; 1.9464  
change
change

Notes

change
  1. The belfry is known as Halletoren, because of an adjacent Cloth Hall that no longer exists; the tower is now free-standing.
  2. The belfry is known as Hallentoren or Tower of the Halls, plural: of the two adjacent wings or halls, only one remains, hence Cloth Hall, singular.
  3. The city centre's Landhuis (literally: 'country-house') was once the seat of the kasselrij or burggraafschap (viscounty) Veurne-Ambacht, serving the countryside; here as opposed to the adjacent Stadhuis (literally: 'city-house' though always meaning the City Hall) serving the city. The Landhuis later became the Court of Justice and recently a place for cultural purposes, e.g. exhibitions, dance acts, concerts, etc.
  4. The name Mammelokker (assumedly: 'Allurer of breasts') for the guard house at the part of the Cloth Hall that once served as a prison, refers to the story of a prisoner.
  5. Quote from external link Detailed argumentation for list ID 943/943bis, UNESCO Website: "The Hôtel de Ville in Antwerpen (1564) is an excellent example of the transposition of Renaissance principles in the central risalith with superposed diminishing registers flanked by obelisks and scrollwork and finished with a pediment, reiterating the theme of the central belfry." – Hôtel de Ville is French for 'City Hall', Antwerpen is the native name of 'Antwerp' in Dutch.
  6. UNESCO states, inappropriately in French: ID 943-016 Tour de Saint-Rombaut ; in native Dutch language this is Sint-Romboutstoren which is the main tower of the cathedral, once also used as a watchtower against fires.
  7. UNESCO states, inappropriately in French: ID 943-015 Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi ; in native Dutch language this is Oude [or: Voormalige] Halle met Belfort. This 14th-century Cloth Hall with never to its designed height built Belfry – both hardly ever used for the intended purposes – with more recent adjacent buildings, constitute the present-day City Hall.
  8. Jump up to: 8.0 8.1 UNESCO states: ID 943-040 Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville, ID 943-039 Beffroi de l'église Saint-Eloi – further reading from other source: (in French) Monuments in Dunkirk

Other websites

change