Nederland - Brongerga, klokkenstoel

A klokkenstoel (bell tower/belfry) as a separate structure probably owes its origin to the fact that certain areas in Friesland were too poor or the communities too small, to build a church. Sometimes a church was built without a tower and the bell was placed in a separate bell tower. It also happened that when a church building or church tower had fallen into ruin, a bell tower was built. Usually, the bell tower is located in a village or hamlet. Almost all freestanding bell towers can be found in the province of Friesland and therefore the bell tower can be called a typical Frisian construction.

Brongerga is such a hamlet (nearby Oranjewoud and Heerenveen). In 1315 it already had a little church and a drawing from 1722 shows that there was still a church, but it must have been demolished shortly afterwards. Nowadays, only the belfry remains in the churchyard, where an old tombstone mentions the year 1711. The bell tower contains a very old bell from the 13th century, which came from a belfry in another Frisian village.
The current bell tower was renovated in 2006.