Belfry of Kortrijk, Medieval bell tower in Kortrijk, Belgium
The Belfry of Kortrijk is a medieval stone tower standing in the central market square with a slight lean toward the west. The structure rises approximately 70 meters and is topped by four smaller spires surrounding its main spire.
The tower was built in 1307 during a period when the cloth trade made Kortrijk wealthy and powerful. It originally served as a treasury vault and storage place for the city's official records.
The tower belongs to a UNESCO World Heritage collection of medieval civic buildings across Belgium and France. These structures represent the independence and power that merchant communities held in their towns during the Middle Ages.
The tower is open year-round for visitors who want to climb the narrow stone staircase leading to the observation platform. The experience is free to access, though it requires a reasonable level of fitness due to the number of steps involved.
Two mechanical figures called Manten and Kalle were added in 1961 to strike the bells at scheduled times. These automated performers are a rare example of preserved mechanisms that combine bell-ringing with movement displays.
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