Beffroi de Thionville, Medieval belfry in Thionville, France

The Beffroi de Thionville is a stone bell tower on Place du Marché, built of pale beige masonry in stacked sections. Its lower face has an arched doorway with dark wooden double doors, and a tall round-arched louvred window sits higher up. The broader side carries a large pointed-arch window with slatted panels and a round clock face near the top, with a metal railing around the upper level.

A 1239 franchise charter from the counts of Luxembourg let Thionville's burghers build a watchtower, with a lookout recorded by 1315. The first belfry rose in the 14th century as a symbol of communal liberties, and its bell is documented from 1363. The present tower was rebuilt in the first half of the 16th century, when Charles V ordered major fortification works; its upper section was remade in 1699.

The tower's bell, mentioned as early as 1363, was recast many times; the bells still hanging date from 1656, 1689, 1746 and 1844. The belfry stood for the communal freedoms granted to Thionville's burghers by the counts of Luxembourg in 1239, and its bell marked civic time.

The tower stands on Place du Marché, its lower section partly inscribed as a monument historique since 27 May 1980. The surviving framework dates from 1699 and the bells from 1656, 1689, 1746 and 1844. Look for the cast-iron hand pump fountain placed at the tower's foot in 1831.

The tower still holds most of its 1699 roof frame and bells cast in 1656, 1689, 1746 and 1844. The public clock was made in 1859 by the Strasbourg workshop of Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué. The tower was partly hit during the siege of 1870.