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 designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, in recognition of an architectural manifestation of emerging civic independence from feudal and religious influences in historic Flanders and neighboring regions of the Duchy of Burgundy.

Cloth Hall, Ypres

UNESCO inscribed 32 towers onto its list of Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia in 1999. In 2005, the belfry of Gembloux in the Walloon Region of Belgium and 23 belfries from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy regions in the northern tip of France were appended to the renamed list. One notable omission is the Brussels Town Hall belfry, as it is already part of the Grand Place World Heritage Site.

However, despite this list being concerned with civic tower structures, additional six church towers were also made part of it under the pretext that they had served as watchtowers or alarm bell towers. These are the 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 structures in this list are towers projecting from larger buildings. However, a few are notably standalone, of which, a handful are rebuilt towers formerly connected to adjacent buildings.

Belgium

ID numbers correspond to the order in the complete list ID 943/943bis from UNESCO, see External links.

Flanders

West Flanders

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

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

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

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

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

Wallonia

Hainaut

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

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

France

Nord-Pas de Calais

Nord

ID 943-033	Armentières	Belfry of the City Hall	50°41′11″N 2°52′57″E
ID 943-034	Bailleul	Belfry of the City Hall	50°44′23″N 2°44′04″E
ID 943-035	Bergues	Belfry	50°58′05″N 2°25′58″E
ID 943-036	Cambrai	Belfry of the St. Martin's Church	50°10′27″N 3°13′56″E
ID 943-037	Comines	Belfry of the City Hall	50°45′55″N 3°00′26″E
ID 943-038	Douai	Belfry of the City Hall	50°22′04″N 3°04′50″E
ID 943-040	Dunkirk	Belfry of the City Hall[8]	51°02′15″N 2°22′36″E
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
ID 943-041	Gravelines	Belfry	50°59′12″N 2°07′34″E
ID 943-042	Lille	Belfry of the City Hall	50°37′50″N 3°04′11″E
ID 943-043	Loos	Belfry of the City Hall	50°36′54″N 3°00′53″E

Pas-de-Calais

ID 943-044	Aire-sur-la-Lys	Belfry of the City Hall	50°38′19″N 2°23′47″E
ID 943-045	Arras	Belfry of the City Hall	50°17′28″N 2°46′37″E
ID 943-046	Béthune	Belfry	50°31′52″N 2°38′21″E
ID 943-047	Boulogne-sur-Mer	Belfry of the City Hall	50°43′30″N 1°36′48″E
ID 943-048	Calais	Belfry of the City Hall	50°57′10″N 1°51′15″E
ID 943-049	Hesdin	Belfry of the City Hall	50°22′23″N 2°02′11″E

Picardy

Somme

ID 943-050	Abbeville	Belfry	50°06′26″N 1°49′58″E
ID 943-051	Amiens	Belfry	49°53′44″N 2°17′46″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
ID 943-053	Lucheux	Belfry on the remaining City Gate	50°11′50″N 2°24′40″E
ID 943-054	Rue	Belfry	50°16′21″N 1°40′07″E
ID 943-055	Saint-Riquier	Belfry	50°08′03″N 1°56′47″E

Gallery

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

Footnotes

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.
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

External links

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 with photographs and descriptions; and a general article
(in French) The French belfries on the UNESCO list ID 943bis with thumbnails, photographs and descriptions

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[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] 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

World Heritage Sites in Belgium
The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier¹ Belfries of Belgium and France² Flemish Béguinages Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs Historic Centre of Brugge La Grand-Place, Brussels Major Mining Sites of Wallonia Major town houses of the architect Victor Horta Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe³ Stoclet House		Flag of Belgium
¹ Listing shared with six other countries, which includes Belgium's Maison Guiette; ² Listing shared with France; ³ Listing shared with twelve other countries, which include's Belgium's Sonian Forest.

World Heritage Sites in France
List of World Heritage Sites in France
Île-de-France	Palace and Park of Versailles Fontainebleau Palace and Park Paris: Banks of the Seine Provins
Parisian basin	Amiens Cathedral Belfries of Belgium and France¹ Bourges Cathedral Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars Chartres Cathedral Climats and terroirs of Burgundy Reims: Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi, Palace of Tau Abbey of Fontenay Le Havre Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay Vézelay Church and hill
Nord-Pas-de-Calais	Belfries of Belgium and France¹ Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin
East	Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans Nancy: Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance Strasbourg: Grande Île, Neustadt Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps³
West	Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe
South West	Episcopal city, Albi Port of the Moon, Bordeaux Prehistoric sites and decorated caves of the Vézère valley Pyrénées – Mont Perdu² Saint-Émilion
Centre East	Chaîne des Puys Chauvet Cave Lyon
Mediterranean	Roman and Romanesque monuments, Arles Carcassonne citadel Gulf of Porto: Calanches de Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble, Avignon Bridge Pont du Gard Orange: Roman Theatre and environs, Triumphal Arch
Multiple regions	The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier Canal du Midi Fortifications of Vauban Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
Overseas departments and territories	French Austral Lands and Seas Lagoons of New Caledonia Pitons, cirques and remparts of Réunion Taputapuātea
¹Shared locally with other region/s and with Belgium ²Shared with Spain ³Shared with Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland