The capital of the Somme department in Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, the town of Amiens was founded in 1113. The well known
Amiens Cathedral (Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), the largest 13th century Gothic Church in France and the 19th largest church in the world, was built between 1220 and circa 1270.
Built as the city’s first town hall, the Belfry (Beffroi) also served as a prison. Registered as a Historic Monument on August 7, 1926, it is also one of the fifty-six belfries of Belgium and France which have been designated collectively as a
Unesco World Heritage Site. A stairs of one hundred or so steps leads one to the terrace above, which provides a panoramic view of the town. Today also a clock tower, the belfry holds a chime, or carillon, of 30 bells.
In its long and illustrious life the belfry has, on occasion, suffered the odd tragedy. It experienced a fire on August 13, 1562 and another, more damaging fire, on April 16, 1742. This last required a major rebuild, changing its outward appearance somewhat. Finally, during World War II it received bomb damage from the Luftwaffe on May 19, 1940, requiring another major rebuild of the upper sections of the belfry and roof.
Belfries of Belgium and France
Twenty-three belfries in the north of France and the belfry of Gembloux in Belgium were inscribed as a group, an extension to the 32 Belgian belfries inscribed in 1999 as Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia. Built between the 11th and 17th centuries, they showcase the Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles of architecture. They are highly significant tokens of the winning of civil liberties. While Italian, German and English towns mainly opted to build town halls, in part of north-western Europe, greater emphasis was placed on building belfries. Compared with the keep (symbol of the seigneurs) and the bell-tower (symbol of the Church), the belfry, the third tower in the urban landscape, symbolizes the power of the aldermen. Over the centuries, they came to represent the influence and wealth of the towns.
High towers built in the heart of urban areas, often dominating the principal square, the belfries are essential elements in the organization and representation of the towns to which they belong. The site inscribed on the World Heritage List comprises 33 belfries located in Belgium (26 in Flanders and 7 in Wallonia) and 23 belfries located in northern France.
A symbolic element in the landscape in ancient Netherlands and the north of France, the belfry represents, in the heart of urban areas, the birth of municipal power in the Middle Ages. A practical building housing the communal bells, conserving charters and treasures, where city council meetings were held, serving as a watch tower and a prison, the belfry has, over the centuries, become the symbol of power and prosperity of the communes.
The belfries are, together with the market hall, significant representatives of civil and public architecture in Europe. The evolution from the “seigneurial keep” to the “communal keep” is noteworthy. The church belfries bear witness to the relationship, within the community, between civil and religious power. Closely associated with the expansion and government of European towns in the Middle Ages, the belfries, by the variety of their type and the evolution of their appearance, and the complexes with which they were often associated, represent an essential element in public architecture from the 11th century onwards.
From Unesco