Saint Nicholas

Kerknet

In 2012, Slijpe celebrated the completion of a ten-year restoration project of its church. Several buildings in the village, including the church, bear witness to the presence of the Knights Templar, the medieval religious order that protected pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land.

The Neo-Gothic church has undergone several periods of destruction and rebuilding. In 1822, a major fire destroyed the tower and the eastern section. The church was enlarged in 1896 according to plans by architect J. Soete and suffered severe damage again during the First World War. Restoration began in 1919 under the direction of Bruges architect Theo Raison, who preserved the appearance of the pre-war hall church.

Surrounding the church is a walled cemetery with old linden trees. Small chapels along the access path, dedicated to the Sacred Heart, commemorate victims of the First World War. Near the east façade stands an eighteenth-century Calvary.

Notable features include the tombstone of Jan Janss(eune), a member of the Order of Saint John, a marble baptismal font dating from 1651, a Neo-Gothic pulpit, two sixteenth-century tombstones, and a Lourdes grotto in the southern transept.

Monumental murals by the Bruges artist Arno Brys highlight Slijpe’s Templar heritage, depicting both the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller and emphasizing their historical importance to the village.

Source:
Inventory Architectural Heritage

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