Kortrijk Belfry, Kortrijk, Belgium

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 and in 1899 with the demolition of the surrounding buildings. The spire features a gilded statue of Mercury (the god of trade) from 1712, and Manten and Kalle, the two figures that strike the hour, adorn the front. On the southeastern side you will find the war memorial to commemorate the First World War, unveiled on 15 July 1923.

Kortrijk belfry is one of belfries in Belgium and France listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

References:

Kortrijk Tourism

User Reviews

Wouter Koster (14 months ago)
Verry nice city but difficult to enter with car.

Doğan Yılmaz (14 months ago)
Old and good

Basil Terrier (2 years ago)
I believe this is St Martins Church adjacent to the Grote Market. Kortrijk is quite a pleasant place and easy to walk around. There is a lot of interesting architecture to admire in the area of the Grote Market and lots of places to eat and snack and watch the world go by. I believe that the area has frequent antiques markets outdoors also. The square also hosts live music and performances. Worth checking beforehand whats on.

Raymond Leadingham (4 years ago)
I've stayed here a few times and it was OK. Sometimes difficult to get someone on the front desk. Room was moderately come, but I always ended up with a single bed. I also had a lot of issues with mosquitoes in my room.

Levi 019 (4 years ago)
Bruges Belfort is better

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Inna_Zyu

Historic Site of the week

Kalozha Church

The Kalozha church of Saints Boris and Gleb is the oldest extant structure in Hrodna. It is the only surviving monument of ancient Black Ruthenian architecture, distinguished from other Orthodox churches by prolific use of polychrome faceted stones of blue, green or red tint which could be arranged to form crosses or other figures on the wall.

The church is a cross-domed building supported by six circular pillars. The outside is articulated with projecting pilasters, which have rounded corners, as does the building itself. The ante-nave contains the choir loft, accessed by a narrow gradatory in the western wall. Two other stairs were discovered in the walls of the side apses; their purpose is not clear. The floor is lined with ceramic tiles forming decorative patterns. The interior was lined with innumerable built-in pitchers, which usually serve in Eastern Orthodox churches as resonators but in this case were scored to produce decorative effects. For this reason, the central nave has never been painted.

The church was built before 1183 and survived intact, depicted in the 1840s by Michał Kulesza, until 1853, when the south wall collapsed, due to its perilous location on the high bank of the Neman. During restoration works, some fragments of 12th-century frescoes were discovered in the apses. Remains of four other churches in the same style, decorated with pitchers and coloured stones instead of frescoes, were discovered in Hrodna and Vaŭkavysk. They all date back to the turn of the 13th century, as do remains of the first stone palace in the Old Hrodna Castle.

In 2004, the church was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO"s World Heritage Sites.

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