City: In the Belgian province of East
Flanders, between Ghent and Antwerp, lies the city of Sint-Niklaas.
The city is considered to be the capital of the Waasland (Belgian
region). The population is around 72,000 people. The history
of the city began in 1217. The bishop of Tournai founded a
church on this spot dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, popularly
known as 'Santa Claus'. For this reason the city came to be
known as Sint Niklaas (St. Nicholas).
Due to the rise of the textile industry in the 18th century,
the city came to be, second only to Ghent, one of the main,
biggest industrial cities in East Flanders. In 1804 Sint-Niklaas
received town rights from Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, after
he had paid a visit there in 1803. The population then was
around 11,000 people.
Striking today is the large market square with its many
historic buildings. A document from 1248 states that Margaret
II of Flanders added six acres of land west of the church
onto St. Nicholas, on condition that no buildings were ever
to be erected on this area of land. To this day the land has
remained just as she requested it. Therefore, Sint-Niklaas
possesses the largest market in Belgium, comprising 2.3 hectares.
Obviously, besides the local market, the area provides a wonderful
opportunity for numerous other events.
In this large market, we find many historic buildings.
Some of them are the beautiful 19th century town hall, a neo-Gothic
building, and the belfry tower. Behind them is the characteristic
church of Our Lady. Hidden among the other buildings on the
square stands the old St. Nicholas Church.
Building: church Our Lady
Its full name is "Our Lady of Assistance of Christians".
The church was built and came into use in the mid-19th century,
between 1841 and 1844. It is certainly a remarkable church,
both outside and the interior. Instead of a spire on the tower,
we see a six meters high, gilded statue of Mary. It was designed
by the French sculptor of Avermaet. The church itself was
designed by the Ghent architect Louis Roelandt, who was an
enthusiast of mixing different styles. That is why the church
is a Neo-Romanesque building in Byzantine style with gothic
elements. The interior of the church exudes an "oriental
atmosphere." The interior walls, pillars and ceilings
are completely painted. Between 1994 and 1998 the interior
was completely restored. This church became a protected monument
in 1973.
God’s name: When one enters the
church, there is immediately visible a large altar painting
, decorated with gold leaf, on which the glorified Jesus Christ
is depicted, surrounded by angels. On top of this God's name
appears as the tetragrammaton. The wall paintings, including
this large panel, are the work of a painters, Godfried Guffens
and Jan Swerts, who made this art work between 1853 and 1870.
