Saint Begga
Place du Chapitre
5300 Andenne
Collegiate Church | XVIII | Neoclassical | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 9.00 - 18.00
Tue 9.00 - 18.00
Wed 9.00 - 18.00
Thu 9.00 - 18.00
Fri 9.00 - 18.00
Sat 9.00 - 18.00
Sun 9.00 - 18.00
Guided tour
+32 492 54 40 48 (Jean Sacré - conservator)
Religious offices
Monday: 3.30 pm
Tuesday: 8 am
Wednesday: adoration from 9 am to 11 am
Thursday: 6.30 pm
Friday: 8 am
Saturday: 5 pm
Sunday: 10.30 am
See the updated timetable on the website of our partner Egliseinfo
Description
The imposing neo classical Collegiate Church of Saint Begga, built in Meuse limestone, stands in a peaceful square slightly removed from the town’s activity. Its grand façade overlooks an open space surrounded by patrician houses, some once home to the canons who lived here from the Middle Ages until the French Revolution.
Saint Begga, founder around 692 of the first monastery—and thus of the town—was the great grandmother of Pepin the Short and sister of Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. Her cult is very present inside the church. On the left altar stands her statue beside her tomb, where children’s shoes are placed to seek her protection, as she was considered the guardian of children.
The church was built under Laurent Benoît Dewez, official architect to the Austrian governor Charles of Lorraine. Sober and filled with light, it has recently undergone full restoration inside and out. At the back of the church are a painting of the Massacre of the Innocents by Finsonius (1615), a pulpit, a 1518 lectern, and six 19th century paintings illustrating episodes from the saint’s life.
The annexes house the treasury and a museum containing the shrine of Saint Begga, ornaments, sculptures, manuscripts, gold and silverware, Andenne religious porcelain, and numerous funerary monuments from the 15th to 18th centuries. This section is currently closed for enhancement work.
Every quarter hour, a fine carillon rings. The collegiate church is listed as outstanding Walloon heritage.
Photos
Media
Remarkable elements
Saint Begge / Choir ladies - 2021 campaign
On the left side altar, visitors can admire the statue of the saint next to her tomb. Patron saint of the town of Andenne and sister of Gertrude (Nivelles), Begge is considered a protector of children.
Tomb of Saint Begge (12th century)
Blue stone slab supported by small statues of angels carrying censer and nuns. The many children's garments placed on the tomb are a touching reminder of the popular fervour with which Saint Begge is still associated.
Treasure and shrine of St. Begge
The twelve adjoining rooms house the Treasure and Museum of the Collegiate Church. Among its many silver pieces, the shrine of Saint Begge stands out. Created between 1570 and 1645, it is seen as a Renaissance masterpiece. It features niches with silver figures of the eleven apostles and St Paul, bas reliefs of the Entombment and Resurrection, and gables showing the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Assumption.
Lectern
Brass lectern from a workshop in Maastricht, probably around 1520, which offers an alternative to traditional representations such as the eagle or the pelican. Here, a griffin is depicted, a fantastic animal with the beak, wings and talons of an eagle, the body of a lion, the ears of a horse and the tail of a snake.
Paintings depicting the life of Saint Begge
A series of 6 paintings by the Hague painter Isidore Lecrenier (1823-1889), commissioned between 1856 and 1858.
The Massacre of the Innocents
This gigantic painting, which is kept at the back of the nave, is the only one by the Bruges painter Louis Finson to be preserved in Belgium. Painted in 1615, the work presents a monumental composition divided into two main planes. The foreground is occupied by a multitude of characters, executioners and victims united in a dizzying chaos, while in the background stands out an architecture evoking Bethlehem.
The theatrical character of this work brings it closer to the Baroque movement.
