Roeselare - St. Michielskerk
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City: Roeselare is a town in the Belgian
province of West-Flanders. The city is located about 26 kilometres
north of Kortrijk. The city was named as early as 822. The
search for the meaning of the name Roeselare is a point of
discussion for linguists. Many believe the name is derived
from 'roes ' and 'laar. 'Roes ' (old dutch) means 'reed’
and 'laar' is the word for a swampy open place in a forest.
So Roeselare would mean ‘open swampy area covered with
reed within a forest."
However, that was in the past. Today Roeselare is a trading
city with many shops, it is also known as Rodenbach City (after
the famous brewery) and as an oasis of greenery and tranquillity.
56,547 inhabitants live here (2008).
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Building: St. Michael's Church
In a report about the local history it is clear that
already by the middle ages there was a church on this site.
In the year 1488, however, there was an extensive fire in
Roeselare. The fire was lit by Austrian troops. Most of the
houses were made of wood and fell victim to the flames. The
church burned down. The present church, built by order of
Philip of Cleves, Lord of Roeselare and Wijnendale, was completed
in 1504. The style of the church is a late Gothic.
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Object: inside the church there are
many art treasures to see, including many paintings by masters
such as Bernard Mioen, Désiré Mergaert, Ferdinand
Callebert, Jacob van Oosten, Van Deijck... The discovery of
the name of God in this church is on account of one of these
paintings. The painting is from an anonymous master. In the
accompanying explanation about the painting the name"Jahweh"
is included.
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