The Belfry of Calais

An integral part of the town hall, the belfry symbolises the reuniting of Calais and Saint-Pierre in 1885. After an architects’ competition was cancelled (the winners had forgotten… the belfry), the building was begun in 1910, interrupted because of the First World War, and completed in 1925.

The architect, Louis Debrouwer from Dunkirk, was a pioneer of a new construction technique: reinforced concrete. Economical, it enabled the 72 metre high building to be decorated, in particular the top floor which felicitously blends brick, stone, sculptures and slate pinnacles in Flemish and Renaissance style.

Above each of the clock faces, a statue of a rider in armour stands guard: this is François de Guise, liberator of Calais. Finally, at the top of the sharp spire, a dragon acts as a weather vane, gazing down at six bronze Burghers, the œuvre that Rodin created for the town in 1895.

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Guided tour : French