Belfry of Bruges
The city of Bruges has a very long history, it is not easy to trace its beginning, but according to historical information 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, it gradually took a leading position in the entire northern part of Europe. The numerous historical monuments that have been preserved here to this day testify to the developed economy. One of the most striking examples is the Bruges bell tower.
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 was gone.
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 base of this tower that stands today in the historical center of the city. The lower part of the tower was occupied by shopping malls, which were arranged here in two floors and formed a closed trading yard - well. Today, those who wish can also get here.
In addition to the storage, the Bruges bell tower 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 approaches. There is a bell tower in the upper part, it appeared here in the 17th century, with its help the townspeople counted down the time, and if necessary, it reported fires and other troubles with its ringing. There are currently 48 bells inside it, 26 of them appeared on it in 1741, after a fire.
The Bruges bell tower has an ancient mechanism by which the bells at the top play certain melodies from time to time, which are periodically changed. The top of the tower is an octagon with arched windows. At various times, they tried to install spires on its roof, but these attempts ended in fires.
Those who wish, for a fee, can get inside the Bruges bell tower, a steep spiral staircase leads to a small observation deck, just like many hundreds of years ago, from here you can see a beautiful panorama of almost the entire city. The height of the tower is 83 meters. The views and overview are interesting from all sides. There are enough people who want to get into the tower, a decent queue is already gathering here by lunchtime, it's best to come here early and on a weekday.
