Street Communal Charter 1210 (≈ 1210)
Granted by the Count of Ponthieu.
XVe siècle
Partial reconstruction
Partial reconstruction XVe siècle (≈ 1550)
Current bass part built after the Hundred Years War.
1854
Restoration of the summit
Restoration of the summit 1854 (≈ 1854)
Addition of the roof, campanile and scallops.
19 février 1926
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 19 février 1926 (≈ 1926)
Listing of belfry in inventory.
2005
UNESCO classification
UNESCO classification 2005 (≈ 2005)
Integrated into the Belgian and French Belfries.
13 septembre 2015
Protection of adjacent buildings
Protection of adjacent buildings 13 septembre 2015 (≈ 2015)
Registration of annexes (former town hall, justice of peace).
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Belfry: inscription by order of 19 February 1926 - The buildings adjacent to the belfry, in whole, excluding the hall of feasts in the north and behind the scenes of the theatre, corresponding to the administrative premises of the former town hall in the west pavilion and to the former room of the Justice of Peace in the east pavilion (Box BN 117): inscription by order of 13 September 2015
Key figures
Comte de Ponthieu - Local Lord
Granted the communal charter in 1210.
Albert Siffait de Moncourt - Painter
Author of the frescoes of the 20th century in the old justice of peace.
Origin and history
The belfry of Rue, located in the city centre of Rue (Somme), was erected after the granting of a communal charter in 1214 by the Count of Ponthieu. Although partially destroyed during the Hundred Years' War, it was rebuilt in the 15th century for its lower part, which still remains today. This chalk monument, of almost square shape (29 meters high), is reinforced by foothills and surmounted by a pyramidal bell tower in slate. Four corbelled scaffolds, with pepper roofs, adorn its upper part, connected by a round road offering panoramic views of the forest of Crécy and the bay of Somme.
The upper part of the belfry was rebuilt in 1860, and it was listed as historical monuments in 1926. Two neo-Gothic buildings, added on both sides in the 19th century, housed the town hall until 1969, then partially the Caudron brothers' museum. These annexes, protected since 2015, illustrate the functional evolution of the site. Inside, a 75-step staircase serves the alder room (1st floor) and the guard room (2nd floor), where watchmen monitored the city. An old prison, housed in a turret, preserves graffiti from the 17th to 18th centuries.
The belfry houses four bells, including Marie-Louise (1.4 tons), used in the past to warn of attacks or fires. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005 under the Belgian and French Belfries, symbolizing medieval communal autonomy and picardic defensive architecture. Paintings by Albert Siffait of Moncourt, in the former Peace Justice Hall, evoke local life in the early 20th century.
Built in limestone on a sandstone base, the belfry combines medieval elements (ogival vaults, foothills) and 19th-century restorations (frame arrow, campanile). Its vaulted vestibule, open in third-point on the street, and its historic rooms make it a rare testimony to medieval urban planning and its subsequent adaptations. The property of the commune remains a major historic place of the Hauts-de-France.
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Future
It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005.
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