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Kortrijk - Sint-Maartenskerk

City: Kortrijk is a city in West-Flanders. More than that, it is a central City with a centuries-old history. Its history goes back to the 1st century AD when it was founded as Cortoriacum. The name means 'settlement located on the bend of the river'. The river referred to here is the Leie. Over the next few centuries Kortrijk grew and became an important city. The city has been nicknamed “Groeninge City" or "Golden Spurs City”. These names refer to the battle of the Golden Spurs of 1302 that took place on the Groeninge Field of Kortrijk and where a Flemish army, mainly made up of farmers, craftsmen and civilians, along with some urban militia and knights, defeated the French army. More information about Kortrijk, after several hundred years it became a centre for the cloth industry, including the linen and flax industry. Kortrijk is today still known as a centre for the textile industry. It is today the home to approximately 75,000 people.

Building: church Sint-Maarten After the destruction of the previous church on this site the present church was built between 1466 and 1390. The first prayer house on this site originated from the year 650. After that a Romanesque church was built, followed by an early Gothic church and then the current church. The present church is a Hall church. This is a church with several side aisles as high and sometimes with the same width as the main nave. The two side choirs and the St. Anna chapel were rebuilt in neo-Gothic style after the fire of 1862.

Object: As one enters the church (see band of images 2 - photo 1) you can see the baptism chapel on the right hand side. In front of the baptism chapel is an elegant wrought-iron fence. This fence, in Louis XVI style of 1780, was designed by Guillaume Tramaseur. The font, made from red marble, (see band of images 2 - photo 3) dates back to 1760. On the fence, on the top, is placed the name of God, inside a triangle.

 

Band of images

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