Church of Sint-Clemens in Klemskerke (De Haan) - Discover this open and welcoming religious building

Church | 1250 | Gothic | Catholic Church

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Opening hours

27 March - 05 November
Mon 10.00 - 17.00
Tue 10.00 - 17.00
Wed 10.00 - 17.00
Thu 10.00 - 17.00
Fri 10.00 - 17.00
Sat 10.00 - 17.00
Sun 10.00 - 17.00

From Holy Week until the first week of November

Religious offices

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Description

The oldest written document on Klemskerke dates back to 1003, in which the village is called “Clemeskirca”, church of Cleme. The protected church is situated on the east side of this century-old polder village and surrounded by a churchyard with hedges and pollard willows. It is a Hall church with 3 naves and an octagonal tower.

The present church of Saint Clemens is built on the remnants of a 13th-14th century church , of which a side chancel and tower foundations (14th century) are preserved. As a result of the ravages of the iconoclasts (end 16th, beginning 17th century), the west part of the nave was pulled down, the original crossing tower thus becoming the front tower of the church.

Already in the middle of the 17th century the church was almost completely restored. Three times the spire was damaged by lightning. Because it was an important beacon for the fisherman at sea, it was restored each time, for the last time in 1770.

The interior was thoroughly restored in 1890-1895 under the guidance of architect Aumery. From that period stem the neo-gothic elements: the picture of the Cross (main altar), the side altars and the pulpit. The 17th century paintings, furniture and polychrome statues were saved.

In 1902-1903 the exterior was restored and renewed and a rosette window was added above the west entrance.

The church is situated on the bicycle routes “Old dyke route”, “North Sea route LF1” and “Bruges Ommeland route”.

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Remarkable elements

Church spire

The spire has posed many problems for the inhabitants of Klemskerke. In February 1696, the chronicles mention that the spire was severy damaged by lightning. It was not restored until 1712. In 1715 lightning struck again. Restoration followed in 1717. In 1770 the spire was again damaged by lightning. The church community was then seriously considering demolishing the spire, but the demolition order was retracted on 23 Sept. 1770 on the grounds that it was a beacon for ship navigation to avoid sandbanks.

Interior of the church

From 1890 to 1895, a thorough restoration of the church interior was executed, including the renovation of the original pilars with capitals, the wooden ceiling and the wall coverings. The nave has 5 bays and the chancel 1 with a 3-sided enclosure, the vestry on the south side and the boiler room on the north side. The ogive arcade rests on circular plastered pilars with 8-sided bluestone bases. The church is spanned by tapering round-arched vaults with rib arches. The brick crossing tower dates from the 12th century.

Organ

In 1832 the church wardens decided to buy a new organ. The order to build was awarded to the well-known organ builders from Ghent, Pierre-Charles and Lambert-Corneille Van Peteghem. The organ housing, the bellows and the reinforcement of the organ loft were executed by Henri Bosée. The whole project cost the community 2.833,28 Belgian francs. At the end of the 19th century the organ was "romanticized" by the organ builder Hooghuys from Bruges. Since then, it has two key boards, 34 organ stops and 1500 organ pipes.

Church furniture

The church contains some splendid pieces of furniture. The confessionals and the pulpit are 17th century and are mainly in oak wood. The confessional in the south aisle was built by master-joiner Pieter Verheust (or Verreust) and dates from 1643. The one in the north aisle dates from 1652 and was probably made by the same joiner. The confessionals show elegant wood carving and angel heads on the columns. The benches of the church wardens are also made by Pieter Verheust between 1637 and 1638. The pulpit is by Cornelis Verlaere and dates from 1639-1640.

Paintings and statues

The church has some 17th century paintings, including the paintings "Ordination of Saint Clemens", "Crowning with Thorns" and "Saint Simon Stock receives the Rosary of Our Lady with Child" from 1649. These paintings were probably made by Jacob van Oost, in whose archives a bill was discovered from 1637-1638 "for the painting and delivery of a painting" and/or made by Cornelis Hemmens who, in 1645-1646, submitted a bill for a painting "now hanging in the church". Two statues from polychromed oak are important: Saint Clemens, from the 16th century and Saint Barbara from the 18th century.

Archeological artifacts

During the last restoration campaign, the existing floor was replaced by a new floor with underfloor heating. The old floor was first lifted and excavated mechanically to a depth of 20 cm, after which another 20cm were manually removed, under the supervision of archeologists. These excavations were done from Dec. 2010 to April 2011. Several artifacts were found, including earthenware shards dating from the 12th to the 17th century, 47 coins from which 31 could be dated with certainty, and a piece of stained glass window. Furthermore, 12 graves (crypts) were also uncovered.