UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Belgium
Stoclet Palace
The Stoclet Palace was built by architect Josef Hoffmann for banker and art lover Adolphe Stoclet between 1905 and 1911. Considered Hoffman"s masterpiece, the Stoclet"s house is one of the most refined and luxurious private houses of the twentieth century. The mansion is still occupied by the Stoclet family and is not open to visitors. It was designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO in June 2009. The Stocl ...
Founded: 1905-1911 |
Location:
Brussels, Belgium
Belfry of Namur
The belfry of Namur, also called Saint-Jacob"s Tower was constructed in 1388 as part of the city wall. It was remodeled as a belfry in 1746. It is one of the 56 belfries of Belgium and France classified as the World Heritage Site of the UNESCO. In the beginning, one of the clocks of the Saint-Pierre-au-Château church served as belfry for the citizens of Namur, which is to indicate the time and to announce even ...
Founded: 1388 |
Location:
Namur, Belgium
Belfry of Mons
The belfry of Mons is one of the more recent among the belfries of Belgium and France. It is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1999. It is the only one in Belgium that is constructed in baroque style. With an altitude of 87 meters, it dominates the city of Mons, which is constructed on a hill itself. The building was designed by architecture Louis Ledoux. He led the works from 1662 until his death in 16 ...
Founded: 1662-1669 |
Location:
Mons, Belgium
Menen Town Hall
Menen"s town hall consists of several buildings located in the middle of the market square. Through the centuries, it has been repeatedly devastated and altered. The present town hall building was established in 1782, when the Austrian Habsburgers ruled over the Southern Netherlands. The façade is in a simple and austere classical style. The Cloth Hall and the Mansion (landhuis) were also part of the town hall ...
Founded: 1782 |
Location:
Menen, Belgium
Kortrijk Béguinage
The Saint Elisabeth Béguinage (Begijnhof) from 1238 is a combination of a béguinage square and street and was added to UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998. The Kortrijk béguinage was surrounded by the castle of the Counts of Flanders, the city walls and the St. Martin"s Church Cemetery and is situated between the Church of Our Lady and the St. Martin"s Church. The Kortrijk béguinage ha ...
Founded: 1238 |
Location:
Kortrijk, Belgium
Belfry of Tournai
The belfry of Tournai is a freestanding bell tower of medieval origin, 72 metres in height with a 256-step stairway. This landmark building is one of a set of belfries of Belgium and France registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Construction of the belfry began around 1188 when King Philip Augustus of France granted Tournai its town charter, conferring among other privileges the right to mount a communal bell to r ...
Founded: 1188 |
Location:
Tournai, Belgium
Kortrijk Belfry
The belfry (Belfort) of Kortrijk stands in the centre of the Grote Markt and was part of the former cloth hall. The earliest mention of the cloth hall dates back to 1248. The belfry is an imposing square tower, slightly sunk into the market square. This is due to the market being raised throughout the centuries. The view from the tower was mainly determined in 1520 with the reconstruction of the upper section of the tower ...
Founded: 1520 |
Location:
Kortrijk, Belgium
Grand Béguinage
The Grand Béguinage of Leuven is a well preserved and completely restored historical quarter containing a dozen of streets in the south of downtown Leuven. With some 300 apartments in almost 100 houses, it is one of the largest still existing beguinages in the Low Countries. It is owned by the University of Leuven and used as a campus, especially for housing students and academic guests. As a community for unmarri ...
Founded: 1234 |
Location:
Leuven, Belgium
Sint-Truiden City Hall
Sint-Truiden’s historical centre includes the town hall (Stadhuis), with a 17th-century tower classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999 (as part of Belfries in Belgium and France). The oldest parts of the building date from the 13th century.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Sint-Truiden, Belgium
Bois du Cazier
The Bois du Cazier was coal mine in Marcinelle, Charleroi. It was the scene of a mining disaster on 8 August 1956, when 263 men including 136 migrant Italian labourers lost their lives. The site today hosts a woodland park, memorial to the miners, the pit head, an industry museum and a glass museum. The museum is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage. A concession to mine was given by royal decree ...
Founded: 1822 |
Location:
Charleroi, Belgium
Oudenaarde Town Hall
Oudenaarde Town Hall was built by architect Hendrik van Pede in 1526–1537 to replace the medieval Schepenhuis (Aldermen"s House) that occupied the same site. Another older structure, the 14th-century Cloth Hall, was retained and now forms a sort of extension at the back of the Town Hall proper. The Oudenaarde Town Hall was a late flowering of secular Brabantine Gothic architecture, carrying on the stylistic tr ...
Founded: 1526–1537 |
Location:
Oudenaarde, Belgium
Grand-Hornu
Grand-Hornu is an old industrial mining complex in Hornu in the municipality of Boussu. It was built by Henri De Gorge between 1810 and 1830. It is a unique example of functional town-planning. Today it is owned by the province of Hainaut, which houses temporary exhibitions in the buildings. As one of four Major Mining Sites of Wallonia, UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 2012
Founded: 1810-1830 |
Location:
Boussu, Belgium
Lier Béguinage
Béguinage of Lier is today a walled village in the community and consists of 162 buildings and St. Margaret"s Church. One of the four entrances to the beguinage is a renaissance gate surmounted by a statue of the Holy Begga. Lier Béguinage was founded in the 1258, when three sisters decided found a place for spiritual women. About 200 years later, the beguinage was grown and had a church, hospital and t ...
Founded: 1258 |
Location:
Lier, Belgium
Roeselare Town Hall
The oldest part of the Roeselare town hall was built between 1769 and 1771 in Louis XV style. The building got its modern wing in 1924. In 1999 the belfry, along with 55 other in Belgium and France, was recognized as a UNESCO as world heritage site.
Founded: 1769-1771 |
Location:
Roeselare, Belgium
Hôtel van Eetvelde
The Hôtel van Eetvelde is a town house designed in 1895 by Victor Horta for Edmond van Eetvelde, administrator of Congo Free State. Together with the Hôtel Tassel, the Hôtel Solvay and his own House and atelier it was put on the "UNESCO World Heritage List" in 2000 as the core of epoch-making urban residences Victor Horta designed before 1900. The visible application of 'industrial' materials such as st ...
Founded: 1895 |
Location:
Brussels, Belgium
Large Béguinage
Beguines are women who could not or did not want to enter a convent, but lived together as a community to support themselves. Around 1560 the beguinage outside the city walls of Mechelen was destroyed. The beguines re-established themselves inside the city walls, where the Large Beguinage (Groot Begijnhof) grew up. They bought up existing buildings and built new dwellings, which explains why the Large Beguinage is rather ...
Founded: 1560 |
Location:
Mechelen, Belgium
Diksmuide Belfry
Diksmuide belfry contains a 30-bell carillon and is one of the several belfries of Belgium and France that are recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. The City Hall and neighbouring Saint Nicolas Church were completely rebuilt after World War I in the Gothic style of the 14th and 15th centuries. The foundation stone of the town hall was laid in 1428. major renovations were carried out between 1567 and 1572. The con ...
Founded: 1428 |
Location:
Diksmuide, Belgium
Binche Town Hall
Binche"s town hall and belfry dates back to the 14th century. Burnt down by the French in 1554, the hall was soon restored in a Renaissance style by architect Du Broeucq. In the 18th century, the architect Dewelz covered the building with a neoclassical façade but, after major restoration works in 1901, the town hall regained its Renaissance appearance. A Baroque onion dome crowns the belfry. The belfry houses ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Binche, Belgium
Veurne Town Hall
Several Renaissance-style buildings, mostly built using the local light-coloured brick, adorn Veurne’s central market square, which make it one of Belgium"s finest market squares. Among these are the city hall (Landhuis) and belfry, which is recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites in 1999. The Belfry of Cecilia Tower was built in 1628.
Founded: 1628 |
Location:
Veurne, Belgium
Dendermonde Town Hall
The former Cloth Hall on the Dendermonde Market Square is a jewel of Flemish medieval architecture. The Town Hall is especially colourful during the summer months, when it is embellished with heraldic flags and flower baskets. The Belfry, Unesco World Heritage since 1999, has housed a carillon since 1548, complete according to the Mechelen Standard with 49 bells, of 6800 kgs total weight. You will appreciate the magnifi ...
Founded: 1337 |
Location:
Dendermonde, Belgium