The Belfry of Mons (french: Beffroi de Mons) is one of the more recent among the

belfries of Belgium and France The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, in recognition of the civic (rather than church) belfries serving as an architectural manifestation of emerging civic indep ...

. At a height of , it dominates the city of

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

, Belgium, which is itself constructed on a hill. This belfry, classified in Belgium since 15 January 1936, belongs to the major cultural patrimony of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

. It was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage List on 1 December 1999, for its unique architecture, civic importance, and testimony to the birth of municipal influence and power in the area. It is the only one in Belgium that is constructed in

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

style.

History

The building was designed in

style by the architect Louis Ledoux. He led the works from 1662 until his death in 1667. The work was continued from 1667 to 1669 by Vincent Anthony. This belfry is both a prestigious construction and a functional building as it served to warn in case of fire or, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, to give alerts against incoming bombardments.

Characteristics

The Belfry of Mons does not have all possible belfry characteristics like the presence of a jail or rooms serving the Justice department, but

Hainaut Province Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clockwi ...

is not a region with belfries that are as typical as the ones in

Belgian Flanders The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and ...

and in

French Flanders French Flanders (french: La Flandre française) is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France where a dialect of Dutch was or still is traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts-de-France an ...

. It houses a carillon with 49 bells. From the top of the building, the battlefield of the

Battle of Mons A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

can be observed, as well as the Borinage, the plains of the

Haine The Haine (, ; ; ; pcd, Héne; wa, Hinne) is a river in southern Belgium ( Hainaut) and northern France ( Nord), right tributary of the river Scheldt. The Haine gave its name to the County of Hainaut, and the present province of Hainaut. It ...

and the hills and hillocks at the side of it, the cement factories and the

terril Terril is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 334 at the time of the 2020 census. History Terril (formerly spelled Terrill) was platted in 1895. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city ha ...

s of the old

coal mines Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

of the "Levant of Mons" in Bray (

Binche Binche (; wa, Bince; Dutch: ''Bing'') is a city and municipality from Wallonia, in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Since 1977, the municipality consists of Binche, Bray, Buvrinnes, Épinois, Leval-Trahegnies, Péronnes-lez-Binche, Ressaix, a ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Mons Tourist Office

UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Belfries of Belgium and France
Towers completed in the 17th century Baroque architecture in Belgium Bell towers in Belgium World Heritage Sites in Belgium Wallonia's Major Heritage Buildings and structures in Hainaut (province) Tourist attractions in Hainaut (province) Mons

History

Characteristics

See also

References

External links