Sint Geertrui (Lions)

Sint Geertrui

View through the interior

View through the main nave

Sint Geertrui ( German : St. Gertrud or St. Gertrudis ) is a Gothic church and former abbey in Leuven ( Belgium ). It is located north of the city center in the Little Beguinage. It became famous for its extraordinary tower, which is considered one of the seven wonders of lions.

history

Sint Geertrui was built between the 14th and 16th centuries as a parish church and at the same time as a church for the Augustinian Abbey of St. Gertrud, an abbey made up of twelve regular canons of noble descent. The abbey was closed in 1796, the building was divided and converted into a commercial area. In 1919 the complex became a Benedictine abbey . The monastery building suffered severe damage in the First and Second World Wars and is now used as an administrative and residential building. The church was also destroyed by an air raid in 1944, except for the tower and a chapel, whereby the famous choir stalls from the transition period between Gothic and Renaissance were lost. However, it could be reconstructed and the parish church was rebuilt by 1953.

architecture

The most notable of Sint Geertrui is their unique 71 m high tower with openwork helmet peak , built by the Flemish architect Jan van Ruysbroeck († 1485), who is also the belfry of the Brussels town hall was built. This point gives the tower a filigree appearance, as you can see through the structure between the stone struts. The tower of Sint Geertrui is one of the "seven wonders of lions" because it was built without a single nail. It also houses an 18th century carillon .

organ

The organ was built in 1713 by the organ builder C. Penceler. The purely mechanical instrument is largely original. It has 23 stops on two manual works and a pedal.

I Rückpositiv C – g 3 1. Bourdon 8th' 2. Salicional 8th' 3. Prestant 4 ′ 4th Flute 4 ′ 5. Flageolet 2 ′ 6th Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 7th Voix humaine 8th' 8th. Hautbois 8th' Tremulant

II Hauptwerk C – g 3 9. Bourdon 16 ′ 10. Montre 8th' 11. Bourdon 8th' 12. Viola da gamba 8th' 13. Prestant 4 ′ 14th Flûte Champetre 4 ′ 15th Larigot 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′ 16. Duplicate 2 ′ 17th Voix humaine 8th' 18th Fittings III 19th Cornet IV 20th Trumpet (B / D) 8th' 21st Clairon 4 ′

Pedal C – f 1 22nd Soubasse 16 ′ 23. Montre 8th'

• Coupling : I / II, I / P, II / P

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information on the organ  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

Commons : Sint Geertrui (Lions)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• on the website of the City of Leuven (Dutch) ( Memento from November 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
• Sint Geertrui on the website of the Vlaams Instituut voor het Onroerend Erfgoed (VIOE) (Dutch)

Coordinates: 50 ° 53 ′ 2.8 "  N , 4 ° 41 ′ 56.6"  E