Aardenburg (Z):
reformed church or St. Bavo
Aardenburg
oldest building is the reformed church, which until 1604 was
used by the catholics and known as the St. Bavo. The western
part of the church dates from the 13th century, when a new church
was built on the foundations of an earlier Romanesque church
which was built in the year 959 by monks from Gent and which burnt down
in 1202. In Flanders, of which Aardenburg was part then, churches
were built in the Schelde-Gothic style, an early variant of Gothicism
that still featured Romanesque
elements. This church is the most complete example of this style in the
Netherlands.
Characteristics of this style present in this church are the (reconstructed) tripartite west
window, the early Gothic lancetwindows
of the clerestorey, the triforium with coupled columns and the
polygonal stair-turrets that flank each transept-arm. The shape
of the windows of the side-aisles and the lower parts of the
transept are still closer to Romanesque than to Gothicism. It
is possible that stones from the former Roman castellum have
been used in the oldest parts of the church.
In the 14th century the choir was replaced by a new one, a hall-choir
consisting of three aisles of equal height, in a more mature
Gothic style. Only the middle aisle extends at the back and has
a polygonal closure.
When the protestants took the building in 1604 it was damaged
too much for immediate use. The tower was repaired in 1607 while
the roofs of the nave and side-aisles weren't renewed until 1626
and 1628 respectively. In 1646 a lantern was built on top of
the tower.
In 1944 the church was badly damaged. When the upper part of
the tower fell on the church in 1945 this caused even more damage.
From 1947 until 1956 the church was restored. Work included the
reconstruction of the tripartite window, traces of the previous
round-topped window are still visible, as well as of the upper
part of the facade. The upper part of the tower, with the lantern,
was rebuilt in 1954-1956.
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