Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Town Hall of Comines, built between 1922 and 1932 by architect Louis Marie Cordonnier, replaces the buildings destroyed during the First World War. The project includes a belfry reconstructed in the same way as the one of 1623, but moved by a few meters and connected to the town hall by a gallery. This belfry, a historical symbol of the city since the 13th century, had suffered multiple destructions (fires, wars) before being energized by the Germans in 1918. Its reconstruction uses modern materials such as the industrial brick of Orp-le-Grand and a concrete frame, partially distancing from traditional techniques.

The original belfry, erected in 1623 thanks to the financing of the Croÿ family, was a square stone and brick tower, topped by a characteristic bulb. After its destruction in 1918, the remains were demolished without preservation, preventing faithful reconstruction. The decommissioning of the monument in 1922 allowed Cordonnier complete freedom to adapt the design: the bulb was stretched (from 52 to 58 meters), and elements such as the side windows were modified to harmonize the whole with the new town hall. Despite these adaptations, the belfry was re-registered with the Historic Monuments in 2001 and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

The town hall, of neo-Flamand style, is distinguished by its orange yellow bricks and stained glass windows evoking local history (Comine teachers, textile industry). Inaugurated in 1929, it symbolizes post-war reconstruction, with a total cost of 1.6 million francs and a 10-year construction period. The architect Cordonnier, a major figure in the reconstruction in the North, integrated modern techniques (armed concrete, reconstituted stone) while seeking to preserve a historical aesthetic. Today, the ensemble forms a unique witness to the architecture of the inter-war period and urban resilience.

The first Belfry of Comines, mentioned in 1276, was a wooden watch tower destroyed by a fire thirty years later. Several times (especially in 1382 after a Flemish fire and in 1594 thanks to the family of Croÿ), it became a municipal symbol in the 17th century with the addition of a hall forming the first town hall. Its destruction in 1918 marked the end of a cycle of successive reconstructions, before Cordonnier's project gave it a new life, mixing heritage and modernity.

The reconstruction of Comens is part of a regional context marked by massive destruction during the First World War. Several belfries and town halls of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, classified as Historical Monuments, were declassified or destroyed without protection (e.g. belfries of Bergues, Orchies, or town hall of Cassel). At Comines, the choice of moving the belfry and modernizing its structure reflects a desire to break with the past, while preserving its emblematic status. Registration at UNESCO in 2005 enshrines this duality between memory and innovation.

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