Churches · Sint-Truiden

Saint Leonard's Church, Zoutleeuw

Sint-Leonarduskerk

church in Zoutleeuw, Belgium

  • TypeChurches
  • WhereSint-Truiden, Belgium
Explore Sint-Truiden On the map

Photo: Paul Hermans nl:Gebruiker:Paul Hermans · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About

About Saint Leonard's Church, Zoutleeuw

Saint Leonard's Church (Dutch: Sint-Leonarduskerk) is a Roman Catholic church in Zoutleeuw, Belgium. It stands on the former site of a Romanesque chapel erected in 1125 by Benedictines from Vlierbeek Abbey near Leuven. Construction of the present church began around 1231, and additions continued into the 16th century.

Rendered mainly in the Gothic style, the building in its oldest parts shows traces of the Romanesque architectural style. The two heavy square towers flanking the west facade are connected with each other by means of a gallery over the nave. The slender central tower, octagonal in cross-section, contains a carillon with 24 bells.

In 1999, UNESCO included the towers and church as part of the World Heritage Site Belfries of Belgium and France. Few, if any other medieval churches in Belgium remain in such an excellent state of preservation as Saint Leonard's, which stayed clear of the widespread iconoclasm during the Protestant Reformation.

It also survived the French Revolution intact, because three canons took an oath of allegiance to the French regime. The interior thus offers an authentic glimpse of how the churches of Brabant were furnished centuries ago.

Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Good to know

Built
1231
Official website
zoutleeuw.be
Also listed as
Viewpoints
Sint-Truiden

Explore

Sint-Truiden

All things to do in Sint-Truiden