Town hall belfry, Belfry in the city center of Calais, France
The Beffroi de l'hôtel de ville is a belfry attached to the town hall of Calais, built in red brick in a Flemish Renaissance style and rising about 75 meters (246 feet) above the city center. The tower is topped by a lantern and a weathervane, and its square shape makes it easy to spot from across the city.
Construction of the belfry began in 1911 following an architecture competition won by Louis Debrouwer, who aimed to design a town hall visible from a great distance. The First World War interrupted the work, and the building was only completed in 1925.
The belfry is part of a Flemish Renaissance-style building complex that stands out for its red brick and symmetrical facade. At the very top, a dragon-shaped weathervane turns in the wind, a detail that many visitors only notice when they look carefully.
The tower sits in central Calais, right next to the town hall, and is easy to reach on foot from other city center sites. Going up offers a view over the rooftops, and the square around the building is a good starting point for a walk through the area.
The belfry is listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage group of belfries of Belgium and France, even though it was only finished in the early 20th century, making it one of the youngest in the group. It was built using reinforced concrete, a modern technique at the time, which helped the structure survive the bombings of the Second World War.
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