Belfry of Bruges
The city of Bruges has a very long history, it is not easy to track its beginning, but according to historical data, it began no earlier than the 3rd century AD, and already in the 6th-7th century the city became the center of Flanders. With the development of trade, he gradually took a leading position in the entire northern part of Europe. A developed economy is evidenced by numerous historical monuments that have survived here to this day. One of the most striking examples is the Belfry of Bruges.
The first wooden tower appeared here in the middle of the 13th century, it served as a treasury and a local archive. But wooden structures cannot withstand fire resistance, so in 1280, after 40 years of existence, the wooden tower disappeared.
It was decided to replace it with a stone one, and in order to protect the valuable archives of the trading city, they were placed behind an iron door, which could only be opened with 7 keys, each of which was kept by reliable people - the city manager and the heads of different guilds. It is the foundation of this tower that still stands today in the historical center of the city. The lower part of the tower was occupied by trading rows, which were here arranged on two floors and formed a closed trading yard - a well. Today, those who wish can also get here.
In addition to the storage, the bell tower of Bruges was used to survey the surroundings, from a great height it was possible to observe the entire city and even see the enemies on its outskirts. In the upper part there is a bell tower, it appeared here in the 17th century, with its help the townspeople counted the time, and if necessary, it informed about fires and other troubles with its ringing. Inside it, there are currently 48 bells, 26 of them appeared on it in 1741, after a fire.
In the belfry of Bruges there is an ancient mechanism with the help of which the bells on the top from time to time play certain melodies, which change periodically. The top of the tower is an octagon with arched windows. At different times, they tried to install spiers on its roof, but these attempts ended in fires.
Those who wish, for a fee, can get inside the bell tower of Bruges, a steep spiral staircase leads to a small observation platform, just like many hundreds of years ago, a beautiful panorama of almost the entire city is visible from here. The height of the tower is 83 meters. Views and review is interesting from all sides. There are enough people who want to get into the tower, already by lunchtime there is a decent queue, it is best to come here early and on a weekday.
