Belfries of Belgium and France
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.
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Belgium; north of France |
Includes | 56 belfries |
Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iv) |
Reference | 943 |
Inscription | 1999 (23rd Session) |
Extensions | 2005 |
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
changeThe ID numbers match the order in the complete list ID from 943 to 943bis from UNESCO.
Flanders
changeWest Flanders
changeID 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
changeID 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
changeID 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
changeID 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
changeID 943-021 | Sint-Truiden | City Hall with Tower |
ID 943-024 | Tongeren | Basilica of Our Lady with Stadstoren (City Tower) |
Wallonia
changeHainaut
changeID 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 |
Namur
changeID 943-056 | Gembloux | Belfry |
ID 943-030 | Namur | Belfry |
France
changeNord-Pas de Calais
changeNord
changePas-de-Calais
changeID 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 | |
ID 943-045 | Arras | Belfry of the City Hall | 50°17′28″N 2°46′37″E / 50.2911°N 2.7770°E | |
ID 943-046 | Béthune | Belfry | 50°31′52″N 2°38′21″E / 50.5310°N 2.6392°E | |
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 | |
ID 943-048 | Calais | Belfry of the City Hall | 50°57′10″N 1°51′15″E / 50.9529°N 1.8542°E | |
ID 943-049 | Hesdin | Belfry of the City Hall | 50°22′23″N 2°02′11″E / 50.3730°N 2.0363°E |
Picardy
changeSomme
changeID 943-050 | Abbeville | Belfry | 50°06′26″N 1°49′58″E / 50.1073°N 1.8329°E | |
ID 943-051 | Amiens | Belfry | 49°53′44″N 2°17′46″E / 49.8955°N 2.2960°E | |
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 | |
ID 943-053 | Lucheux | Belfry on the remaining City Gate | 50°11′50″N 2°24′40″E / 50.1971°N 2.4112°E | |
ID 943-054 | Rue | Belfry | 50°16′21″N 1°40′07″E / 50.2725°N 1.6687°E | |
ID 943-055 | Saint-Riquier | Belfry | 50°08′03″N 1°56′47″E / 50.1342°N 1.9464°E |
Gallery
change-
Belfry of Armentières
-
Belfry of Bergues
-
Town hall and belfry of Calais
-
Belfry of Charleroi
-
Belfry of Douai
-
Belfry of Ghent
-
Belfry of the old town hall of Herentals
-
Belfry of Nieuwpoort
-
Belfry of Tielt
Related pages
changeNotes
change- ↑ The belfry is known as Halletoren, because of an adjacent Cloth Hall that no longer exists; the tower is now free-standing.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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- Brief description of the ensemble ID 943/943bis, UNESCO Website
- Detailed argumentation for list ID 943/943bis, UNESCO Website
- The complete list ID 943/943bis, UNESCO Website (monuments ordered by UNESCO ID, which precedes the corresponding monument in this Wikipedia article's main list)
- Articles on the phenomenon of the belfries from the Flemish Department of Monuments and Landscapes
- The Belgian belfries on the UNESCO list ID 943 (without Gembloux) with photographs and slideshows – from the Flemish Department of Monuments and Landscapes
- (in French) The French belfries on the UNESCO list ID 943bis Archived 2013-03-18 at the Wayback Machine with photographs and descriptions; and a general article
- (in French) The French belfries on the UNESCO list ID 943bis with thumbnails, photographs and descriptions