Belfries of Belgium and France

Belfries of Belgium and France
UNESCO World Heritage Site
	Belfry locations
Location	Belgium; north of France
Includes	56 belfries
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (iv)
Reference	943
Inscription	1999 (23rd Session)
Extensions	2005

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 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 | change source]

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

Flanders[change | change source]

West Flanders[change | change source]

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 | change source]

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 | change source]

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 | change source]

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 | change source]

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

Wallonia[change | change source]

Hainaut[change | change source]

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

Namur[change | change source]

ID 943-056	Gembloux	Belfry
ID 943-030	Namur	Belfry

France[change | change source]

Nord-Pas de Calais[change | change source]

Nord[change | change source]

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 | change source]

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 | change source]

Somme[change | change source]

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

Gallery[change | change source]

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 Namur
Belfry of Nieuwpoort
Belfry of Tielt

Related pages[change | change source]

List of World Heritage Sites in Europe

Notes[change | change source]

↑ 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.
↑ ^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 | change source]

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

[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.

[Dunkirk-8] 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

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