A Belfry tower is perhaps the most typical building in medieval Flemish cities. It represents the power of the cities and functioned as treasury and watch tower. In the early Middle-Ages most cities were granted a set of privileges from the count or the duke. These rulers were often forced to give the expanding cities certain rights and privileges, such as the right to organize a yearly market, or the staple right for certain products or animals. In return, the counts received money or soldiers for their never ending battles and wars to expand their territories.The Belfry tower of Ghent is perhaps one of the most impressive ones in Flanders. It dominates, together with the St-Nicholas tower and the cathedral tower the medieval center of the city. The architects were Jan van Aelst and Filips van Beergine. The tower was completed in 1338, when the bells were rung for the English king Edward II