SINT-JAKOBSKERK
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Church of St. James in late Brabantine Gothic style with a Renaissance tabernacle.
Just behind the Vrijdagmarkt is the Church of St. James. It sums up all the periods of religious architecture in the region, as the building has undergone numerous destructions and reconstructions over the centuries. The first wooden church was built on this site in 1093, dedicated to St. James, for the departure of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. The stone church was built around 1200 in Romanesque style, but all that remains today are the transept pillars, the base of the octagonal bell tower and the two western towers in this form (geminated bays with a colonnette, blind windows with ornamental motifs). In the 13th century, the nave, chevet and two storeys of the crossing tower were built in Scaldian Gothic (transitive between Romanesque and Gothic). However, a fire around 1400 destroyed the two west towers. Since its reconstruction, the facade is no longer symmetrical: the new tower has been topped with a Gothic spire in Balegem stone! In the 15th century, the guilds took over the churches to provide themselves with places to pray. Like the others, Saint-Jacques was enlarged in the 15th century with side chapels for these guilds, apparently the clothmakers. The rest of the building (apse and apses) is of the later Brabantine Gothic style. The interior features three paintings by Gaspar De Crayer and a Renaissance-style tabernacle in black and white marble and copper. A flea market is held in front of the church every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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