Belfort - Brugge, Belgium
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N 51° 12.496 E 003° 13.491
31U E 515706 N 5673010
The Belfry of Bruges, or the Halletoren, is located on Bruges' Grote Markt. It has burned down a few times throughout the history
Waymark Code: WM18HZ4
Location: West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Date Posted: 08/08/2023
Views: 7
Wikipedia mentions that the Belfry (and previously the hallen) had burnt down:
"A number of halls originally stood on the site of the current belfry . The halls consisted of several covered markets for mainly wool and cloth trade and storage places. Around 1240, the trading elite in Bruges decided to replace the wooden construction with a stone complex and also to erect a stone belfry with a wooden spire, as a symbol of urban prosperity. The tower had a more administrative function: it contained a treasury, the archive of the city accounts and functioned as the seat of the city aldermen.
In 1280 the upper part burned down and the archive from before 1280 was lost. This caused a separate town hall to be built on the Burg where most of the administrative functions moved. Around 1291-1296 the tower was restored with the two lower square parts and a wooden spire.
The town halls were further expanded in the 15th century and from 1483 to 1487 the octagonal Gothic upper part was built, also with a wooden spire on which the statue of Saint Michael appeared. Due to a lightning strike in 1493, this upper part burned down again, as well as the town bells. A wooden spire with an ascending lion was built during the restoration.
In 1741 the spire burned down again and was restored in 1753, but without the spire . In 1822 the tower received the current neo-Gothic crown finish instead of a spire.
In the 13th century, the tower began to slant in a south-easterly direction, possibly due to a heterogeneous soil structure as a result of a watercourse that was filled in locally. A westward correction was applied to the elevation of the tower. However, the problem was already a concern in the 16th century. To prevent further sagging, the corners of the tower were reinforced in 1554 with heavy pillars. In 1964-1971 the tower was thoroughly restored. However, it turned out to be unnecessary to reinforce the foundations to prevent further tilting.
The belfry of Bruges is 83 meters high and leans slightly (87 centimeters towards Wollestraat ). To reach the top, 366 steps must be climbed."
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