Bethune (France) (AFP)

Promised to be renovated even before the "Loto du patrimoine" operation, the Belfry of Béthune (Pas-de-Calais) has benefited from a boost that is both welcome and unexpected, both financially and in terms of tourism.

Wrapped in a long white canopy, the giant of the Grand'Place, 47 m high, is pampered every day by expert workers, specialized in heritage restoration.

The work began in June two months late due to the health crisis and Maryse Bertoux, culture and heritage assistant at the town, would like to see the monument reopen its doors at Heritage Days 2021: "we had planned 16 months at the start . For now, we are meeting the deadlines. "

The operation is expensive.

It is estimated at around 1.3 M EUR by the municipality, which assumes only 20% of the investment.

The majority of subsidies come from the Ministry of Culture, the department, the region, but also the Heritage Lottery to the tune of 137,000 EUR.

A bonus that the municipality did not expect: "we had the surprise on March 7, 2019. That day we had an urban trail that started. We saw the press arrive in the morning, we didn't know why. . They are the ones who told us the news! ”, Recalls the elected official.

But "we had already planned the renovations. This work is being prepared 2-3 years in advance," she says.

If the site is closed for such a long period of time, it is because, for financial reasons, everything has to be redone in one go, as Cédric Ludwikowski, in charge of mission at the Beffrois du Patrimoine Mondial association: "For example, simply acting on a weather vane would generate significant costs, and it is wise to combine this intervention with repairing the roof slates, in order to reduce the bill linked to scaffolding in particular."

The objective is to restore the structure to its former appearance.

Eight new carillons will therefore be redesigned to return to the 35 bells installed on the building in 1951. They will complete the 27 still present under renovation.

The belfries, typical monuments of the North, were used in the Middle Ages as watchtowers.

That of Béthune was built in 1346 on the initiative of bourgeois of the time.

First in wood, the building was destroyed by fire and then rebuilt in stone in 1388. In 1664, it resisted the fire in the Cloth Hall which surrounded it, then three days of German bombardment in 1918. Every year. houses surrounding him were destroyed and left him alone in the middle of the Grand'Place.

"The belfry truly traces the history of the city" comments the local elected.

While the city is reeling from the announced closure of the Bridgestone tire plant (863 employees), the revival of the belfry is also a means of attracting tourists: "We had a lot of visits, a craze, but I think that the appeal will be more important when it has been completely renovated "explains Ms. Bertoux.

© 2020 AFP