*Location:

   Beffroi
   Hôtel de Ville (City Hall)
   Rue de la Mairie
   Douai, Nord, France
   LL: N 50.36799, E 3.08061

Site locator map
City locator maps and gazetteer page (province incorrect, other data OK)

*Carillonist:

   Stéfano Colletti
   E: info/@/stefanocolletti DOTcom

   (all known since 1391)
   Jean-Claude Eloire
   Didier Lannoy
   1954-98 Jacques Lannoy   (H)

*Contact:

   Mlle. Mestaver,
     Archiviste de Hôtel de Ville
   - or -
   Office du Tourisme
   Bernard Lamoine, directeur
   T: 20 26 89 03
   - or -
   Hôtel de ville (service des fêtes)
   T: 27 87 26 63
   - or -
   École Française de Carillon
     (French Carillon School)
   rue de la Fonderie
   59500 Douai
   T: 27 88 79 74

*Schedule:

   Saturdays 1045-1145 (for marriages);
   Sundays and holidays 1100-1200;
   International Carillon Festival on
   Mondays in July and August at 2100.
   Carillon-orchestra-ballet on 3rd Sat.
   in June or 1st Sat. in July.
   Hour strike on Wauthy bass "Joyeuse".
   Open to visitors daily 15 June to
   15 September and Sundays the rest of
   the year, 1000-1200 and 1500-1800.

*Remarks:

   Carillon of 1730 by Nicholas Levache.
   European standard keyboard installed
   in 1987.  Dummy bass C# present in
   manual (dropped) and pedal (sprung).
   Old bells by Wauthy destroyed 1914-18;
   1924 instrument by Wauthy also,
   except for 2, now the 2 basses.
   Some bells may have dated to 15th c.;
   first reached carillon size 19th c.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 62 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell (excluding sub-bourdon) is C  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C C 60/ (G)A#C 26
   Transposition is up  2 semitone(s), i.e., from C to D 
   There are two missing bass semitones
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The present keyboard was installed in 1987
     by Paccard      
   Prior history:
     In 1974, the instrument was enlarged to 62 bells
       by Paccard     
       Keyboard range was:  (A)C D   /    ----  
       Transposition was nil (concert pitch)
     In 1954, the instrument was enlarged to 49 bells
       by Paccard     
       Keyboard range was:  (A)C C   /    ----  
     In 1924, the instrument was enlarged
       with bells made by Wauthy      
       (2 bells were added in and/or remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was unknown
     In 18xx, the instrument was begun with 38 bells
       by Wauthy      
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
     In 1730, a complete instrument of an unknown number of 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 2023

The GCF page about this carillon has a description and two photos.

A French-language page about the building has several photos of the bells and clock.

The French Wikipedia article about this tower has a paragraph about the carillon, but its history is sketchy, and it is not clear whether Wauthy repaired or replaced the two ancient basses (Moer, 1471) that were cracked in WW I.

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

The 1730 Levache phase is not indexed.
Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Wauthy bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Wauthy bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the third 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.
(The keyboard replacement is not indexed.)

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 carillon 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 2024/01/23