The Broel Towers are a classified monument and a landmark

Landmark

This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...

 in the Belgian city of Kortrijk

Kortrijk

Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...

. The towers are known as one of the most important symbols of the city.

History

Although they look identical, the towers were not built at the same time. The Southern tower, also known as the Speyetoren, was built in 1385 to control the traffic on the river Lys. This tower was part of the fortified fence of the first medieval castle of the Counts of Flanders. The Speyentoren was also part of the 12th century rampart, destroyed by Louis XIV in the 17th century.

The Northern tower, known as the Ingelborchtoren was built in 1415 and was used as an armory

Armory (military)

An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...

.

Nowadays, the towers are, together with the Artillerytower (in Dutch: Artillerietoren), the last remaining parts of the medieval city wall around the city. Most of the fortifications in Kortrijk were ordered to be destroyed by Vauban

Vauban

Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...

 in 1683, a period in which the French and the Spanish armies repeatedly fought over control of the region. The remaining parts were destroyed in the 18th century and during the world wars.

A statue of John of Nepomuk

John of Nepomuk

John of Nepomuk is a national saint of the Czech Republic, who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional...

can be found in the middle of the bridge spanning between the two towers. This statue of the patron saint of the drowned has, ironically, fallen into the river Lys on several occasions due to warfare in the city. The bridge between the two towers was destroyed in both world wars.

External links

• http://www.fortified-places.com/courtrai.html More information on the medieval fortifications around Kortrijk