Belfry of Dunkirk

The Dunkirk Belfry

View of the Saint-Éloi church from the belfry viewing platform

Memorial to the fallen of the First World War

The Belfry of Dunkirk also Belfry Saint-Eloi ( French Beffroi de Dunkerque ) is a landmark of Dunkirk , since 1916 a national French cultural monument and since 2005 World Heritage Site . Of the three medieval brick towers under the Belfries of Northern France, it is the only one that has largely been preserved in its medieval substance. It has great architectural similarities with two other brick Gothic towers near the coast, namely the former church and today's lighthouse Westkapelle (Oberfeuer) in the Dutch province of Zeeland and the tower of the Danzig Marienkirche .

As a vantage point, the tower provides a panoramic view of the city and harbor. It also serves as a bell tower for the neighboring Saint-Éloi church and has a carillon. There is a tourist office on the ground floor.

history

The tower was built in 1233 as a watchtower and also as a landmark and lighthouse for the seafarers of the Bishop of Cambrai and the city lord. A fire was kept on the tower at night for this purpose. The task of the tower keeper , who warns of approaching enemies, watches the outbreak of fires at night and then raises the alarm and lights and entertains the beacon, had been entrusted to the Garcia family for 600 years.

In the middle of the 15th century , the tower was raised to the current height of 58 meters and expanded to become the bell tower of the Saint-Éloi church (Saint Eligius), into which it was integrated.

He survived the destruction of the church during the conquest and sacking of the city by the French Marshal Thermes in 1558 unscathed. When the church was rebuilt as early as 1560, there was not enough money to continue the 60 meter long church building up to the tower. Initially closed with a windowless wall, a new facade in the style of antiquity was built in 1782 at the same location, deliberately separating the belfry and the church. This separation was made permanent by the neo-Gothic facade from 1889, which replaced the dilapidated facade in the antique style. Today a street runs between the church and the belfry.

The viewing platform was renovated and redesigned in 1836.

On the south side, towards the church, a memorial was erected in 1923 for the city's more than 500 fallen in the First World War , designed by Pierre Fritel .

The width of the rectangular Gothic tower, which was built from light-colored bricks , is 15 meters at the base and 8 meters at the highest point. The foundations are 1.70 meters deep.

Carillon

The old carillon-shaped carillon donated by Gaspard Malo in 1853 was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1940 when the tower burned out during World War II . Forty-eight of the current bells were cast by Paccard in Annecy in 1962 . In 2005 the control of the glockenspiel was also renewed by Paccard and 2 bells were added, so that now 50 bells are available for 4 octaves . The bells together weigh 17 tons. The largest of these, the drone Jean Bart , weighs 7 tons alone. The control instrument weighs 400 kilograms. Its control panel, with which it can be played by hand, is somewhat similar to an organ desk. If there is no concert, a small melody is automatically played every quarter of an hour, namely:

La Cantate à Jean Bart on the hour

At quarter past the hour the "Ta lire, ta loure" sur l'air de "Polichinelle"

Half an hour from L'air du Carillon de Dunquerque

At a quarter to the hour L'air du Reuze

Carillon control panel
Look at the 50 bells on the carillon
Detail of the mechanics

Gallery panoramic view from the belfry

Panoramic view in north-east direction of the Hotel de Ville
View of the Museum of Fine Arts and the two water towers
View to the north of the harbor ...
View focused on the harbor museum, the sailing ship Duchesse Anne and the lightship Sandettié