Post Stairs - Inside and Out

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Petit Palais, Paris.

 

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Salzburg, Austria

 

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Castle De Haar in Utrecht, Netherlands.

 

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Orvieto, Italy.

 

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Stairs inside the 83 meter high Belfort (belfry) tower in Brugge, Belgium (366 steps total).

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Stairs inside the 83 meter high Belfort (belfry) tower in Brugge, Belgium (366 steps total).

Oh my, that brings back memories of the song we were taught as children: Klokke Roeland. It's a beautiful song with a beautiful text and melody.

Boven Gent rijst eenzaam en grijsd
't Oud Belfort, zinbeeld van 't verleden.
Somber en grootsch, steeds stom en doodsch
Treurt de oude Reus op 't Gent van heden.
Maar soms hij rilt en eensklaps gilt
Zijn bronzen stemme door de stede:

Trilt in uw graf,​

trilt Gentsche helden,​

Gij Jan Hyoens,​

gij Artevelden.​

Mijn naam is Roeland, 'k kleppe brand​

En luide storm in Vlaanderland!​

​

I only know the first couplet, but still remember the words. I had to look up the spelling though.

I found an English translation:

Clock Roeland

Above Ghent rises, lonely and greyed,
the old belfry, symbol of the past
Somber and great, always mute and dead,
the old giant sorrows over today's Ghent
But sometimes he sounds and suddenly shouts
his bronze voice through the city

Rise in your grave, rise heroes of Ghent​

You Jan Hyoens, you Arteveldes.​

My name is Roeland, I sound fire​

and loud storm in Flanders​

But it doesn't even come close to doing justice to the beautiful language of the original, or to its meaning for that matter.

EDIT: I found the song on Youtube! And it's really well done. Listening to the "Rise in your grave" bit gave me goose pimples, which I knew it would! It has the entire song.

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Bamberg, Germany.

 

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Rome

 

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Gouda Cheese Museum, Netherlands.

 

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Nafplion, Greece.

 

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Hotel Danieli, Venice.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

 

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Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest.