Belfry of Bruges

The belfry of Bruges, sometimes called the Halletoren, is one of the most prominent symbols of Bruges, Belgium. This 83-meter-high medieval bell tower formerly housed a treasury and the town archives, and also served as a watchtower. It leans slightly, about a meter to the southeast. To reach the top requires climbing 366 steps. Sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North, Bruges has many waterways that run through the city. ...

Building history

A number of halls, which were used mainly as markets and warehouses, initially occupied the site where the belfry now stands. The original belfry was added to this complex around 1240, when Bruges was prospering as one of the main centers of the Flemish cloth industry. In 1280, a fire gutted much of the tower, causing the loss of the town archives. The geographical region and former county of Flanders contains not only the two Belgian provinces but also the present-day French département of Nord, in parts of which there is still a Flemish-speaking minority, and the southern part of the Dutch province of Zeeland known as Zeeuws-Vlaanderen...

The octagonal upper stage of the belfry was added between 1482 to 1486, and was capped with a wooden spire bearing a representation of Saint Michael, banner in hand and dragon underfoot. The spire did not last long: a lightning strike in 1493 reduced it to ashes, and destroyed the bells as well. Another wooden construction, this time decorated with a Belgian lion, crowned the building for some two-and-a-half centuries, before it, too, fell victim to flames in 1741. The spire was never replaced again, but an openwork stone parapet in Gothic style was added to the top in 1822. Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Sta. ... Greater coat of arms Belgiums great coat of arms The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Belgium contains a pair of lions (called the Belgian Lion, or Leo Belgicus), that are the national symbols of the Belgian nation. ... A parapet consists of a dwarf wall along the edge of a roof, or round a lead flat, terrace walk, etc. ... See also Gothic art. ...

A poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, titled "The Belfry of Bruges," refers to the building's checkered history: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet who wrote many works that are still famous today, including The Song of Hiawatha, Paul Reveres Ride and Evangeline. ...

In the market-place of Bruges stands the belfry old and brown;

Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town.

View from the canal at Rozenhoedkaai

Bells

The tower for most of its history has contained bells, which were important in signaling the time, alarms, and other various announcements. Eventually a mechanism ensured the regular sounding of certain bells, for example indicating the hour.

In the 16th century the tower acquired a carillon, allowing the bells to be played by means of a hand keyboard. Starting from 1604, the annual accounts record the employment of a carilloneur to play songs during Sundays, holidays and market days. The Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia, USA A carillon is a musical instrument composed of at least 23 cup-shaped bells played from a keyboard using fists and feet (such an instrument with fewer than this number of bells is known as a chime). ...

In 1675 the carillon comprised 35 bells, designed by Melchior de Haze of Antwerp. After the fire of 1741 this was replaced by a set of 47 bells cast by Joris Dumery, together weighing about 27.5 tonnes. These are still in use. The Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp) in the Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to a number of triptychs by Belgian Baroque painter Rubens. ... A tonne (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of weight. ...

External links

• Picture gallery and description from Belgiumview.com
• Bruges: The Belfry and the Cloth Hall from trabel.com
• (Dutch) History of the belfry and carillon from the Flemish Carillon Association

Coordinates: 51°12′30″N, 3°13′29″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically); large version (pdf) The geographic (earth-mapping) coordinate system expresses every horizontal position on Earth by two of the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system which is aligned with the spin axis of the Earth. ...