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Belfries used to be the place where medieval merchants could find protection for their merchandise and where the city archives and charters were kept. The belfries of Belgium are exceptional examples of a form of urban architecture adapted to the political and spiritual requirements of their age. In addition to their outstanding artistic value, the belfries are potent symbols of the transition from feudalism to the mercantile urban society that played a vital role in the development of late medieval Europe.The belfries are imposing bell-towers of medieval origin, generally attached to the town hall and occasionally to a church.
During the course of the 12th and 13th centuries the rise of the regional textile industry contributed to a large extent to the emancipation of the urban settlements that arose around the feudal fortresses. In the 13th and 14th centuries, belfries were detached buildings with added multifunctional halls that served both as administrative and commercial purposes. In another type of architecture in 14th and 15th centuries, the belfry tower is incorporated in the elevation of the main façade of the town hall. Gradually, the clock and watch tower function of the belfry became predominant and as a result the belfries were given a more elegant and tall elevation and crowning which in fact fits in very well with the gothic style prevailing at that time but thus also made into easy targets for enemy attack. The greatest humiliation to which the enemy could subject a town was the imposition of silence, causing damage or even forcibly removing the belfry's bells and the carillons. In "ancient" Brabant and neighboring areas the role of the secular belfry is frequently taken over by the main church. The belfry in Tournai which dates back to 1187 is the oldest in Belgium.
Belfries in French Speaking Wallonia |
Binche
The belfry, located in the town hall, dates back to the 14th century. Burned down by the French in 1554, it was soon restored in renaissance style. In the 18th century, a neoclassical decoration was put on the façade. An onion-shaped dome covers the belfry, which houses the chimes with several 16th-century bells. |
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Charleroi
Inaugurated in 1936, Charleroi owns the youngest belfry of French speaking Wallonia and Belgium. Like the belfry in Binche, it is part of the town hall and forms the main entry.
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Mons
El Catiau, as he is fondly called in Mons, is a symbol of Mons' identity. Erected in the 17th century after the collapse of the bell tower in 1661, it is the only baroque belfry (285 feet high) in Belgium, classically decorated. The walls are made of Bray sandstone, the embellishments pillars and pilasters of blue stone |
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Namur
The original belfry was located on the citadel. In the 16th century, it lost its crenels and two floors, which made it almost half as small as it used to be. It was used to house the "cloche-porte" (gate bell), the bell that announced the opening and the closing of the city gates. After a fire, it became the city's new belfry. |
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Thuin
The belfry in Thuin, located on the Place Albert Ier, is the remaining tower of a church that was destructed in 1811 in order to create space for the square. Perfectly renovated with modern design technology, it has a splendid view.
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Tournai
The belfry of Tournai is Belgium's oldest belfry. Thanks to restoration works, all the rooms along its 257 steps are now open to the public. Tip: go first to the Tourist Office and see the film about the city history ("The Passage of Time") before you discover the belfry and the film telling all about it.
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Beguinages
A beguinage consists of a number of small houses within a courtyard enclosed by walls. Unlike regular nuns, beguines are not under vows of celibacy, obedience and poverty. They do take a vow of chastity and obedience for as long as they choose to stay at the beguinage. If they decide to marry, they are allowed to do so but have to leave the beguinage. The beguines live in a small individual houses in solitude, dividing time between prayer, manual work (sewing or lace-making) and taking part in collective events, such as religious services and processions.
The first beguinages were established in the early 13th century in the southern parts of the Lowlands (Flanders and the Netherlands). Due to a surplus of women, the regular convents were overcrowded.Yet at the time a large number of women from all classes shared the same longing for a mystical and religious lifestyle. To ensure a stable social position for themselves, they founded semi-religious communities. These were the very first beguinages.They flourished under Spanish rule and especially from the 17th century on. The movement reached its nadir after the French revolution, when Napoleon attempted to smother all religious activities. After the Second World War beguinages soon became extinct.
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Sanctuary of Beauraing
Mary appeared to five children at Beauraing: Fernande, Gilberte, Albert, Andrew, and Gilbert in thirty-three apparitions from November 19, 1932, until January 3, 1933.
Beauraing is located in the Belgian province of Namur. Possibility to go to Beauraing from Brussels by train with one change in the city of Dinant (2h15).
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Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Poor (Banneux)
From 15 January to 2 March 1933, Mary appeared eight times to Mariette Béco, a young girl aged 11 years. Possibility to go to Banneux from Brussels by train to Liege or Verviers and then transfer by bus.
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Chevetogne Abbey
The monastery of Chevetogne, situated halfway between Brussels and Luxemburg, in the countryside near the Belgian Ardennes, is an international, Benedictine monastery, devoted to the unity of Christians.
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Clairefontaine Abbey
The abbey Notre-Dame de Clairefontaine (1935) in Cordemoy is located along the Semois in a haven of piece, on the former fief with farm that baron of Moffarts bequeathed to his daugther in the 20s. |
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Floreffe Abbey
Floreffe Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastery, the second of the order to be founded, situated on the Sambre, about seven miles southwest of Namur, Belgium. |
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Maredsous Abbey
Founded in the 19th century, Maredsous monastery has a much more distant past. In fact, more than a thousand years. Here is a brief summary. So you can see the tradition we stand in and you will perceive our present day characteristics. The monks of Maredsous are Benedictines.
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Orval Abbey
Orval Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the Gaume region of Belgium and is located in Villers-devant-Orval, part of Florenville in the province of Luxembourg. The abbey is well-known for its history and spiritual life but also for its local production of a Trappist beer and a specific cheese. |
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Ramee Abbey
The Abbey of La Ramée is a historical site, whose tastefully and respectfully restored listed buildings date back to the 18th century. The farm and the barn were classified monument and site in 1980 and won the CAÏUS price of the Walloon region in 2000. In 2001, it received the price Europa Nostra and in 2002 La Ramée was recognized like major monument of Wallonia. |
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Stavelot Abbey
Founded by Saint Remacle in the middle of the 7th century, this Romanesque abbey was dismantled during the Revolution (end of the 18th century). It is structured around two courtyards, marking a separation between secular life and sacred life. |
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Val Dieu Abbey
Religious order: Cistercians (13th century). The abbey used to have a great tradition of beer brewing which revives again thanks to some laymen who took over the brewery of Val Dieu, which remains inside the walls of the monastery. The four specialties of the Val Dieu are: lager, brown ale, tripple and a "Christmas Special". |
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