Belfry of Aire-sur-la-Lys, Belfry in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France

The Belfry of Aire-sur-la-Lys is a square tower of dark grey rough stone, its upper stage in lighter beige stone, standing behind the town hall. A clock with a dark face and gold numerals sits near the top above stacked arched louvred openings, with three small round windows aligned down the shaft and a large arched passageway at the base. A 236-step spiral staircase, cut from the steps of the old town hall, leads to the top.

A first belfry and hall were built in 1355; fire destroyed them in 1373, and a stone-and-brick belfry followed in 1447. Ruined by the War of the Spanish Succession, it collapsed in 1708. The Arras engineer Héroguel rebuilt it between 1715 and 1724 behind the town hall, at the king's request, funded by the townspeople in exchange for the beer tax. It was listed in 1947 and inscribed as a UNESCO belfry in 2005.

The belfry stands behind the town hall on the axis of the Hallettes passage, which has housed the municipal library since 1891. The tower itself served as a watchtower, a prison and a meeting room, and also held the town treasury. Its bells once rang the hours and summoned residents to hear new ordinances proclaimed.

The belfry stands behind the town hall, reached from the Grand'Place through the town hall's two entrance portals and the Hallettes passage. A 236-step spiral staircase, cut from the steps of the old town hall, leads to the top. The tower is not visible from the square, as Louis XIV required it be hidden behind the town hall's fronton.

The belfry was built behind the town hall on the axis of the Hallettes passage, deliberately hidden from the square by the town hall's large pediment. In 1715 the king refused to fund the 97,000 livres needed, so the townspeople paid, and he abolished the beer tax in return. A 236-step spiral staircase, cut from the steps of the old town hall, leads to the top.