Basilica of St. Peter and Paul (Dendermonde)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tower facade of the basilica

The Basilica of St. Peter and Paul is a Roman Catholic church in Dendermonde , Belgium . The church of the Benedictine abbey is dedicated to the apostles Simon Peter and Paul of Tarsus and bears the title of a minor basilica .

History of the basilica

A Benedictine abbey was established in the former Capuchin monastery in 1837. In 1900 the old Capuchin Church was too small and torn down. It was replaced in 1902 by the current church building. In 1914 the abbey, like large parts of Dendermonde, was largely destroyed by a war fire, including the towers and the roof of the abbey church. However, the strong vault resisted the fire, so that the actual church building was preserved. Together with the sacristy, part of the choir stalls were also affected by the fire. In 1919 the restoration of the abbey church and the construction of the new abbey began. In 1939 the church received from Pope Pius XI. awarded the rank of minor basilica. A memorial stone on the back of the church commemorates this elevation.

architecture

The three-aisled cruciform church with its double tower facade was built in the neo-Gothic style according to plans by the builder Auguste Van Assche. The main nave has a gable roof, the rectangular transept arms have slate roofs and the choir and presbytery have a slate roof with dormers. The whole church is covered with cross-ribbed brick vaults on profiled ribs on capitals. During the restoration, the interior was rebuilt in the Flemish Renaissance style according to the plans of the Ghent architect Valentin Vaerwyck. Camille Ganton from Ghent created the stained glass windows, the sculptor Remi Zimmer from Ghent made the high altar with an alabaster reredos as well as the statue of St. Benedict , the pulpit and the choir stalls. The two altars at the entrance to the choir are dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of Affligem. Today's organ by Johannes Klais Orgelbau from Bonn was built in 1958. It is equipped with 28 registers and 2056 pipes .

Web links

Commons : Abbey of St. Peter and Paul  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sint Pieters-en-Paulusbasiliek on gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ Sint-Pieters- en Paulusabdij. In: Inventoryis Onroerend Erfgoed (Dutch)

Coordinates: 51 ° 1 '46.2 "  N , 4 ° 5' 58.6"  E