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Its 14th century belfry was reputed to be the finest north of Paris. That would have delighted its architect, who boldly designed a building without buttresses, but then left the town without turning round for fear of seeing it fall down !

It was the Germans who executed this task in 1944, by dynamiting it. Luckily, the bells had been removed in 1938 to be retuned. On the arrival of the Nazis, they were buried, to be put back in place in 1961, when the new belfry was inaugurated, its attractive outline modelled on the original one.

This rare open bell-tower, with its peal of 50 bells, was also kept from the original belfry. Up above reigns Nicolas, the lion on the town’s coat of arms. This weather vane had to give up its position during the Revolution, when it was replaced by a Phrygian cap with a pike and a flag.