Saint Germain
Veemarkt
3300 Tienen
Church | XIII-XVI | Romanesque | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 9.00 - 16.00
Tue 9.00 - 16.00
Wed 9.00 - 16.00
Thu 9.00 - 16.00
Fri 9.00 - 16.00
Sat 9.00 - 16.00
Sun 9.00 - 12.00
+ open by arrangement : +32 16 81 13 43
Guided tour
Tower by arrangement:
+32 16 80 57 38
toerisme.tienen@skynet.be
Religious offices
Description
Tienen used to be called the white town because of its whitewashed facades but nowdays the name is mostly justified by a number of white towers. From afar one sees three: from west to east there is the new water tower, the churches of Our Lady and Saint Germain. The iconic cooling tower of the sugar refinery has meanwhile been demolished. Of these towers the oldest is that of the Romanesque Saint-Germain. Its base dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
The church is also situated in a very privileged location: on highest point of the Veemarkt, among other ways accessible through two steep flights of stairs, with a sober carillon corner at the Apostelenhof.
The church is also an example of the region's building stones, especially the Overlaar quartzite. The tower (65 metres) and its carillon (54 bells) can occasionally be visited. UNESCO has recognised the tower as a world heritage site. In the church, you will find the organist at work. This church has been honoured with the oldest church organ of the Low Countries.
Following disasters in 1536 and 1635, some parts were rebuilt in the gothic style. In due time, some parts of the church began to lean. The choir has been lifted seven degrees from the axis of the nave and the steeple subsided after an explosion in town.
In 2003, three murals by Yvan Struys were inaugurated.
KIKIRPA : Photo-library online
See the treasures of this church online on erfgoedplus.be
Photos
Media
Remarkable elements
Lettner
Yellow copper eagle lectern from the end of the 15th century. As early as the 16th century, the lectern was repeatedly restored by Jan de Geelgieter of Mechelen, among others. Perhaps the pedestal under the statue of Christ on the cold stone is the original foot of the lectern.
Organ
Oldest organ case in the Netherlands made in 1493 by Reyner Cocx for the Leuven organ builder Daneel Vander Distelen. Thanks to the financial contribution of the Tiense Sugar Refinery, the instrument was restored in 1986 by Jean-Pierre Draps and Ghislain Potvlieghe. After archival, scientific and technical research, the restoration restored the instrument as much as possible to Jan Deeckens' version of 1671 - 1673. Thus, today this is a baroque organ in a gothic case.
Pillars with sculpture
Monolithic capital with carving in grey limestone from the second quarter of the 13th century above the northwestern schalk of the middle bay of the west building. The sculpture represents the Queen of Saba. The Queen of Saba is the pre-image of the Church as bride of Christ.
Christ on the cross
Christ on the Cross also Christ of the White Women. Polychromed oak statue from the 14th century (?). After the French Revolution, the statue was transferred from the convent of the Wittevrouwen, located opposite the current sugar factory, to the church. Every Friday of the month of March, the prayer service to this statue of Christ takes place.
Stained-glass window
Stained glass window from the south transept with depicting twelve saints and six scenes from local history. The stained glass window was designed by J.B. Bethune and mounted in 1866. The installation of this window was the first impetus for a neo-Gothic redesign of the church.
Pulpit
Statue of Saint Peter from the pulpit, carved by Petrus Valckx of Mechelen about 1760. On the right, St. Paul stands before a cavern. The pulpit originally stood in St. Peter and Paul Church in Mechelen. Between 1778 and 1779, the pulpit was transferred to the St. Germanus Church in Tienen.
