Belfry of Ghent

The 91-metre-tall belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, Belgium, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Its height makes it the tallest belfry in Belgium. The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Construction of the tower began in 1313 after a design by master mason Jan van Haelst. His plans are still preserved in the Ghent City Museum. After continuing intermittently through wars, plagues and political turmoil, the work reached completion in 1380. It was near the end of this period that the gilded dragon, brought from Bruges, assumed its place atop the tower. The uppermost parts of the building have been rebuilt several times, in part to accommodate the growing number of bells.

The local architect Lieven Cruyl made a design for a Baroque spire in 1684. His design was not implemented and in 1771 the campanile was finished with a spire after a design by architect Louis 't Kindt. A neo-Gothic spire of cast iron was placed on the tower in 1851. This iron spire was demolished between 1911-1913 and replaced by the current stone spire. The works were carried out under the direction of Valentin Vaerwijck whose designs were inspired by the original design from the 14th century.

Through the centuries, the belfry served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower and the place where the documents evidencing the municipal privileges were kept.

The bells in the belfry originally only served a religious purpose. Gradually the bells got a secular role by regulating daily life in the growing medieval city. The alarm bell Roland (an Anglicization of the Dutch name Roeland), which was installed in the Belfry in 1325, was also used as the hourly bell from 1378 onwards. The hourly chime was preceded by warning signals on three smaller bells with various tones. This was the predecessor of the carillon. The carillon was built by the famous bellfounders Pieter and François Hemony in the 17th century and has a total weight of 30 tons. The carillon gradually expanded to 53 bells after its restoration in 1982. In 1993 another bell, called Robert, with a clear sound was added to the carillon.

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