*Location:

   Beffroi Communal
   (Hôtel de Ville/Stadhuis)
   Rue Lamartine at Rue du Collège
     (Pl. Henri Billiaert)
   Bergues (Sint Winoksbergen),
     Nord (Normandy), France
   LL: N 50.96803, E 2.43265

   A spiral stair of 206 steps
   from the tourist office on the ground
   floor passes through four floors of
   various displays to the carillon and
   belvedere overlooking the city.
   (191 steps to the keyboard)

Site locator map
City locator maps and gazetteer page

*Carillonist:

   Jacques Martel
   E: jacques.martel/@/bbox DOTfr

   1934-99 Adalbert Carriere

*Contact:

   Service d'Information (SI)
   Beffroi
   - or -
   Mairie de Bergues
   Place de la République
   59380 Bergues
   T: 03 28 68 60 44   F: 03 28 68 71 25
   E: Webform @ www.Bergues.fr

*Schedule:

   Monday 1100-1200; holidays 1700-1800.

*Remarks:

   Automatic chime of 1544, by Jean
   Eenwoudt of Bruges, was recast in 1547
   and destroyed by fire in 1558.  Chime
   of 1660, by Simon Heudebert, Bergues,
   replaced by Jean Blampain of St.Omer.
   Various minor recastings over time.
   Carillon of 1880, mostly by Crouzet-
   Hildebrand (Paris) was largely
   destroyed in 1940.
   Completely restored in 2019.
   Visits possible daily (except Tuesday),
   1 May to 6 September, 10-12, 15-18.
   Bourdon "Den Storm", 9374 livres, cast
   in 1643 by Jean Blampain & son Michel.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 50 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell (excluding sub-bourdon) is G  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C C 49/ (G)C G   
   Transposition is up  7 semitone(s), i.e., from C to G 
   There are no missing bass semitones
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The instrument was enlarged in 1974
     with 12 bells made by Paccard      
   Prior history:
     In 1961, the instrument was enlarged to 38 bells
       by Paccard     
       (33 bells were added in and/or remain from that work.)
       Keyboard range was: (D )G G   /    ----  
       Transposition was nil (concert pitch)
     In 1880, the instrument was enlarged to 35 bells
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
       (3 bells were added in and/or remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was unknown
     In 1628, the instrument was begun with 24 bells
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
       (2 bells remain from that work.)
     In 1560, a complete instrument of 12 bells was installed
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
     In 1544, a complete instrument of 10 bells was installed
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
   Auxiliary mechanisms: QH    
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2018

The English Wikipedia article about the town mentions the carillon and has photos of the restored tower.  The French Wikipedia article about the tower has historic and current photos of it, and mentions the carillon, but has no details except to say that "Some of the bells, saved after the disaster of 1944, date from the 17th and 18th centuries."
Many more photos of the tower are in the associated Wikimedia Commons category.

The GCF page about the carillon (in three languages) has a description and two photos.

The city page about the tower (Beffroi) has a brief history and a small gallery of clickable photos.

A page about the tower has a photo taken before the carillon was installed.

The English version of the city Website formerly had a page about the tower, with a link to a French-language page about the carillon, with current and historic photos and three sound clips. 
Former page about two former carillons of Bergues, archived without photos

The ARPAC Website (archived 2019) presents much more detail than we can here, though it is all in French.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of miscellaneous bellfoundries, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of miscellaneous bellfoundries, in this region and in the world.
Where the third phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of miscellaneous bellfoundries, in this region and in the world.
Where the fourth phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of miscellaneous bellfoundries, in this region and in the world.
Where the fifth phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all French traditional carillons by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all French traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all French traditional carillons by year of completion.

Where the bass bell of this peal ranks among all great bells in Europe.

Index to all traditional carillons in France.

Index to all tower bell instruments in France/Nord.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2024/09/04
   and on technical data last updated on 2023/11/01