The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings. They are part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe. It shows a design change from feudal and religious influence in historic Flanders and its neighboring regions of the Duchy of Burgundy.
UNESCO included 32 towers of Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia in 1999. In 2005, the bell tower of Gembloux in the Walloon Region of Belgium and 23 others from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy regions were added to the renamed list. Brussels Town Hall and its bell tower were not included since was already part of the Grand Place World Heritage Site.
Additional six church towers were also added since they served as watchtowers or alarm bell towers. These include Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, St. Rumbolds Cathedral in Mechelen, St. Peter's Church, Leuven, St. Germanus Church in Tienen, the Basilica of Our Lady in Tongeren and St. Leonard's Church in Zoutleeuw.
Most of the buildings in the list are towers from bigger buildings. A few of them are restoration of towers previously connected to nearby bigger buildings.
Belgium
The ID numbers match the order in the complete list ID from 943 to 943bis from UNESCO.
Flanders
West Flanders
East Flanders
Antwerp
Flemish Brabant
Limburg
Wallonia
Hainaut
Namur
France
Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord
Pas-de-Calais
Picardy
Somme
Gallery
Related pages
List of World Heritage Sites in Europe
Notes
Other websites
Brief description of the ensemble ID 943/943bis, UNESCO Website
Detailed argumentation for list ID 943/943bis, UNESCO Website
The complete list ID 943/943bis, UNESCO Website (monuments ordered by UNESCO ID, which precedes the corresponding monument in this Wikipedia article's main list) Articles on the phenomenon of the belfries from the Flemish Department of Monuments and Landscapes The Belgian belfries on the UNESCO list ID 943 (without Gembloux) with photographs and slideshows – from the Flemish Department of Monuments and Landscapes The French belfries on the UNESCO list ID 943bis with photographs and descriptions; and a general article The French belfries on the UNESCO list ID 943bis with thumbnails, photographs and descriptions