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Origin and history

The belfry of Bethune, built in 1388 in sandstone under the permission of Guillaume I of Namur, replaces a first wooden building destroyed by fire in 1346. Symbol of the city, it dominates the Grand Place and is completed in 1437 by a third floor, then in 1546 by a carillon of six bells. Its architecture reflects medieval urban prosperity and its watchful role.

In the 16th century Charles Quint, after taking Bethune in 1553, enriched the carillon with the bells of Thérouanne. In 1664, a fire destroyed the Halle with surrounding sheets, leaving the belfry isolated. In the 18th century, the campanist Philippe le Corsin replaced the 6 bells with 36 new ones in 1773. The building, surrounded by houses until the First World War, survived the bombings of 1918 despite the destruction of its campanile.

The post-war reconstruction (1921–1923), led by Paul Degez and the Historic Monuments, restores the belfry to identical, using stones of the destroyed St. Vaast church. Ranked a historic monument in 1862, in 2005 it included the list of belfries of France and Belgium as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, he still sits on the Grand Place, testifying to the urban and architectural history of Bethune.

The monument consists of four floors: the Salle des échevins (place of medieval power), the Salle du watchur (logis de surveillance), the Salle du carillon (35 current bells), and access to the round road. Its square structure, flanked by hexagonal turrets and surmounted by a 17-metre campanile, culminates at 33 meters with a dragon named Beffy at its summit.

The belfry also inspired the logotype of the former Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Its carillon, originally designed to rhythmize civic life (warnings, celebrations), and its wooden balcony for public proclamations illustrate its central role in communal life since the Middle Ages.

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