Tour de l'Horloge d'Evreux

The Tour de l’Horloge (or Beffroi d’Evreux) is a 44m high belfry of Gothic style, built from 1490 to 1497 by two French architects of Evreux, Moteau Pierre and Jehan Cossart, on the site of one of the tower walls that once encircled the main gate of the city. The building then served as a observation tower and clock, with a large bell housed inside. This bell, “La Louyse”, has not moved but the sculptures of the facade were restored in the 19th century. Visitors can admire the elegance of the wooden spire covered with lead of Gothic style and the spiral staircase of the tower including 140 stairs, last vestige of the old fortifications that once guarded the city.

Situated along the Iton River since Antiquity, the Tour de l’Horloge is illuminated with various shades of blue, reminiscent of water and its slight movements. Miraculously remained standing amid the ruins of bombings in June 1940, the last Norman belfry is classified as historical monument since 1962. So after the Second World War, Evreux was rebuilt around its oldest public building, which had been number 1 in 1804, when it was decided to number the streets of Evreux.