Belfry of Ghent

The 91-metre-tall belfry of Ghent is one of 3 medieval towers that neglect the antique town centre of Ghent, Belgium, the other belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Its height makes it the tallest belfry in Belgium. The belfry of Ghent, together with its connected homes, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Construction of the tower started in 1313 after a design through master mason Jan van Haelst. His plans are still preserved inside the Ghent City Museum. After persevering with intermittently through wars, plagues and political turmoil, the work reached of entirety in 1380. It changed into near the stop of this era that the gilded dragon, introduced from Bruges, assumed its region atop the tower.

The uppermost parts of the constructing were rebuilt several instances, in element to deal with the developing quantity of bells. The neighborhood architect Lieven Cruyl made a layout for a Baroque spire in 1684. His layout turned into no longer applied and in 1771 the campanile became finished with a spire after a layout by means of architect Louis 't Kindt. A neo-Gothic spire of solid iron changed into located at the tower in 1851.