View from the belfry tower of Ypres (Ieper), with the tower of the Saint-Martin's Cathedral in the distance.
A belfry or hall tower is a medieval watchtower with a storm bell. More generally, 'belfry' refers to an urban tower in the Southern Netherlands (read: Belgium and Northern France). This type of tower was often built on or attached to a town hall or commercial cloth hall and was the place where the city bells were hung. A group of 56 belfries in Belgium and France are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In the 13th century, the city of Ypres, as a testament to its power and wealth, built its public buildings in stone. And she does so with ambition: the Ypres cloth hall and the belfry are, at that time, one of the most impressive civil buildings in Europe! The Cloth Halls served as a covered sales and storage place for cloth on the (now arched) waterway, the Ieperlee. Construction of the halls was completed in 1304.
The Ypres belfry, 70 meters high, emphasizes the enormous importance of the cloth trade. This leads to the wealth and power of medieval Ypres. The belfry was the safest and best protected place in the city during the Middle Ages. It is also the storage place for the 'free letters' (documents declaring priviliges, local souvereignity and autonomy of the city) and for the treasury. The tower also serves as a weapons storage facility and as a watchtower to see approaching anemies of spot fires.
The tower, with its exception of the base was destroyed during the First World War and reconstructed.
