"The Cloth Hall Tower of Ypres" July 1916. In the 1998 Photo register, the photo is described as the "Clock tower of Ypres". The Cloth Hall (Dutch: Lakenhal or Lakenhalle) is a large cloth hall, a medieval commercial building, in Ypres, Belgium. It was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages, when it served as the main market and warehouse for the Flemish city's prosperous cloth industry. The original structure, erected mainly in the 13th century and completed 1304, lay in ruins after artillery fire devastated Ypres in World War I. Between 1933 and 1967, the hall was meticulously reconstructed to its prewar condition, under the guidance of architects J. Coomans and P. A. Pauwels. At 125 metres (410 ft) in breadth, with a 70 metres (230 ft)-high belfry tower, the Cloth Hall recalls the importance and wealth of the medieval trade city.