A number of halls originally stood on the site of the current belfry. The commercial elite in Bruges decided around 1240 to replace the timber construction with a stone complex and also to build a belfry in stone with a wooden spire, as a symbol of urban prosperity. The tower had a more administrative function, it contained a treasury, the archive of the city accounts and functioned as the seat of the city aldermen. In 1280 the upper part burned down and the archive from before 1280 was lost. Around 1291-1296 the tower was restored with the two lower square parts and a wooden spire. The city halls were further expanded in the 15th century and from 1483 to 1487 the octagonal Gothic upper part was built, also with a wooden spire on which the statue of Saint Michael appeared. Due to a lightning strike in 1493, this upper part burned down again as well as the city clocks. During the repair, a wooden spire with a lion ascending was built. In 1741 the spire burned down again and was restored in 1753, but without the spire. In 1822 the tower was given the current neo-Gothic crown finish instead of a spire. The tower began to slump in a southeasterly direction in the 13th century, perhaps as a result of a filled-in watercourse. In 1964-1971 the tower was thoroughly restored. However, it turned out not to be necessary to additionally reinforce the foundations to prevent further tilting.
The belfry of Bruges is 83 meters high and slopes slightly over 87 centimeters towards Wollestraat. To reach the top there are 366 steps to climb.