A
bell tower (also
belfry) is a
tower which contains one or more
bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a
church and contains
church bells. When attached to a
city hall or other civic building, especially in continental
Europe, it is often named "belfry". Elsewhere, the term "belfry" refers strictly to the part of the tower which contains the bells. Thus some bell towers have no belfry. The occasional free standing bell tower may also be referred to by its Italian name,
campanile. Old bell towers may be kept for their
historic or iconic value, though in countries with a strong
campanological tradition they often continue to serve their original purposes as well.
Bell towers are common in China and countries of the
related cultures, where they may appear both as part of a temple complex and as an independent civic building.
Purpose
The bell is rung to signify the
time, for special events such as
weddings and
funerals, or especially in old days to sound a civil defense or fire
alarm.
Bell towers may also contain
carillons or
chimes, musical instruments traditionally composed of large
bells which are sounded by cables, chains, or cords connected to a
keyboard. These can be found in many churches in Europe and America and at some
college and
university campuses. In modern constructions that do not qualify as carillons, rather than using heavy bells the sound may be produced by the striking of small metal rods whose vibrations are
amplified electronically and sounded through
loudspeakers. Simulated carillon systems have also used recordings or samplings of bells onto tape, compact disc, or memory chips.
Distribution
Historic belfries exist throughout
Europe, from
Ireland to
Russia.
Bruges,
Ypres,
Ghent,
Lille,
Tournai and
Douai have famous examples. Not all are on a large scale; the "bell" tower of
Katúň, in
Slovakia, is typical of the many more modest structures which were once common in country areas. In the
Middle Ages, cities sometimes kept their important documents in belfries.
In 1999 thirty-two
Belgian belfries were added to the
UNESCO's
list of World Heritage Sites. In 2005 this list was extended with one Belgian and twenty-three
French belfries and is since known as
Belfries of Belgium and France. Most of these were attached to civil buildings, mainly city halls, as symbols of the greater power the cities in the region got in the Middle Ages; a small number of buildings not connected with a belfry, such as bell towers of—or with their—churches, occur also on this same list ().
Etymology: belfry
The word
belfry comes from
Old French berfrei which is derived from Germanic *
bergan "to protect" and *
frithuz "peace"; that is, it was originally a watch tower providing protection against hostile incursions. These towers usually contained an alarm bell or bells, thus
Middle English speakers thought
berfrei had something to do with bells: they altered it to
belfry, an interesting example of the process of
folk etymology. Today's
Dutch belfort seems to combine the bell with the stronghold.
Gallery
In the Far East
Bell towers are common in China and the countries of the
related cultures as well. They may appear both as part of a temple complex and as an independent civic building, often paired with a
drum tower. Among the best known examples are the
Bell Tower (Zhonglou) of Beijing and the
Bell Tower of Xi'an.
See also
