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BELFRY AND LINEN SHED

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Sint-Baafsplein, 9000Gent, Belgium
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+32 9 266 70 70
2024
Recommended
2024

Late Gothic building, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, worth visiting to admire the view of the city.

Between Place Saint-Bavon and Rue du Marché-au-Beurre, the 91-meter-high belfry, a UNESCO World Heritage site, dominates the city. Gothic in architecture, it was a symbol of communal freedom and prosperity, but also of power, punctuating the lives of the town's inhabitants with a variety of bells.

The Cloth Hall. To visit the belfry, you need to enter the adjacent "halle aux draps", a magnificent late-Gothic building erected in the 15th century. It testifies to the importance of the cloth industry in medieval times, although this trade was already in decline when the building work began. The hall remained unfinished until the dawn of the 20th century. Admire the huge fireplace with its hearth, the windows and arches decorated with stone foliage, and the murals dating from 1903.

History. Begun in 1314 to plans drawn up by architect Jan van Haelst, work was abruptly halted for 20 years from 1338. In 1402, the town's privileges were transferred to a safe secretly stored in the belfry. It wasn't until the end of the 14th century that a temporary structure crowned the building, with a wooden spire bearing the legendary Ghent dragon to indicate the direction of the wind. The relief on the pediment recounts the Roman legend of Simon, a man condemned to die of hunger who was nursed in prison by his daughter during visits. In 1771, the wooden structure was replaced by a neo-Gothic cast-iron spire.

Visit. A free smartphone app is available for explanations in French. Inside the building, you'll discover the original cast-iron dragon-whirligig that crowned the belfry in 1377, or rather, what remains of it. Then you can admire all the bells in the carillon, including a massive 6-ton "Klokke Roeland", the Roland bell. It replaced the one that Charles V had cracked, so that a dreadful, discordant sound would remind the inhabitants of their punishment. In 1659, 45 smaller carillon bells were made by brothers Pierre and François Hemony. The work of these founders can be seen in a museum documentary. Today, the carillon counts 53 bells. The keyboard is on the4th floor, as is the clock mechanism. Don't miss the chance to see the whole thing in action every quarter-hour! The tour includes an elevator to the top to admire the view over the city, but you'll have to come back down for a dizzying staircase!


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Members' reviews on BELFRY AND LINEN SHED

4.3/5
16 reviews
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Math-gee
Visited in august 2021
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Très bien
Le beffroi est le point central de la ville! Impossible de passer à coté. Ce serait dommage. Avec ses 4 petits clochés plus le grand, le toit est très original!
flos06
Visited in february 2022
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Incontournable
La vieille ville de Gand est très riche d'un point de vue architectural. Le Beffroi est l'un des batiment les plus monumental comme dans beaucoup de ville du nord et de la Belgique. Bref c'est un incontournable.
emilienpb
Visited in november 2021
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Majestueux
Un très bel édifice qui offre une magnifique vue sur toute la ville. L'ensemble avec la halle aux draps est résolument majestueux.
aaa119
Visited in november 2019
Value for money
Service
Originality
Magnifique édifice
Très beau édifice, magnifique vue de la haut. Cela vaut vraiment la peine de le visiter si vous passer à Gand :)
Visited in january 2020
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Originality
Vue à 360 degrés sur la ville
Endroit incontournable pour une vue à 360 degrés sur cette splendide ville de Gand. Vous pouvez y admirer tous les édifices de la villes.

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