600 BELGIAN ARCHITECTURE. Part IL CHAPTER II. CONTENTS. Civil Architecture — Belfries — Hall at Ypres — Louvain — Brussels — Domestic Architecture. WHATEVER opinion we may form as to her ecclesiastical edi- fices, the real architectural pre-eminence of Belgium consists in her civil, or rather her municipal buildings, which surpass those of any- other country. None of these are very old, which is easily accounted for. The rise of commercial enterprise in Belgium, though early compared with other European nations, was more recent than the age of military and ecclesiastical supremacy, and men Avere consequently oblio-ed to erect castles to protect their property against robbers, and churches for their religious wants, before they could think of council- halls or munici[)al edifices. In the 12th century, when the monarchy of France was consoli- dating itself, the cities of Belgium were gradually acquiring that wealth and those rights and privileges which soon placed them among the independent and most prosperoais communities of Europe. One of the earliest architectural expressions of their newly-acquired inde- pendence was the erection of a belfry. The right of possessing a bell was one of the first privileges granted in all old charters, not only as a symbol of power, but as the means of calling the community together, either with arms in their hands to defend their walls, to repress internal tumults, for the election of magistrates, or for delib- eration on the affairs of the commonwealth. The tower, too, in which the bell was hung was a symbol of power in the Middle Ages, and, whether on the banks of the Scheldt or the Po, the first care of every enfranchised community was to erect a "tower of pride" propor- tionate to their greatness. The tower, moreover, was generally the record-office of the city, the place where the charters and more important deeds were pre- served secure from fire, and in a place sufficiently fortified to protect them in the event of civic disturbances. All these uses have passed away, and most of the belfries have either fallen into neglect or been removed or appropriated to other purposes. Of those remaining, the oldest seems to be that of Tour- nay, a fine tower, though a good deal altered and its effect destroyed by more modern additions.
