The bell is also the primary character in the city's anthem, in which the bell warns of fire or calls upon the citizens of Ghent to defend the land. I am Roland! I am Roland! there is victory in the land! Till the bell of Ghent responded o'er lagoon and dike of sand, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow referred to Roland in his poem The Belfry of Bruges: After subduing Ghent, which had risen up against him, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor ordered the removal of Roland. The primary bell in the tower, called Roland, was also used to warn the citizens of Ghent of an approaching enemy or a battle won. In 1993 another bell, called Robert, with a clear sound was added to the carillon. The carillon gradually expanded to 53 bells after its restoration in 1982. The carillon was built by the famous bellfounders Pieter and François Hemony in the 17th century and has a total weight of 30 tons. This was the predecessor of the carillon. The hourly chime was preceded by warning signals on three smaller bells with various tones. The alarm bell Roland (an Anglicization of the Dutch name Roeland), which was installed in the Belfry in 1325, was also used as the hourly bell from 1378 onwards. Gradually the bells got a secular role by regulating daily life in the growing medieval city. The bells in the belfry originally only served a religious purpose. Through the centuries, the belfry served not only as a bell tower to announce the time and various warnings, but also as a fortified watchtower and the place where the documents evidencing the municipal privileges were kept. The works were carried out under the direction of Valentin Vaerewijck whose designs were inspired by the original design from the 14th century. This iron spire was demolished between 1911-1913 and replaced by the current stone spire. A neo-Gothic spire of cast iron was placed on the tower in 1851. His design was not implemented and in 1771 the campanile was finished with a spire after a design by architect Louis 't Kindt. The local architect Lieven Cruyl made a design for a Baroque spire in 1684. The uppermost parts of the building have been rebuilt several times, in part to accommodate the growing number of bells. It was near the end of this period that the gilded dragon, brought from Bruges, assumed its place atop the tower. After continuing intermittently through wars, plagues and political turmoil, the work reached completion in 1380. His plans are still preserved in the Ghent City Museum. Construction history Ĭonstruction of the tower began in 1313 after a design by master mason Jan van Haelst. The belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its height of 91 metres (299 ft) makes it the tallest belfry in Belgium. The Belfry of Ghent ( Dutch: Belfort van Gent) is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, Belgium the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas' Church. Excerpt from the manuscript "Gand et Flandre" with chronicles, maps, miniatures and monuments. Belfry of Ghent, Saint Nicholas' Church in the background The gilded copper Dragon on top of the Ghent tower, constructed in 1377–1378 Miniature of the belfry in the 19th century.
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