Saint James the Greater
Place de la Halle 1
4890 Clermont-sur-Berwinne (Thimister)
Church | 1632 | Gothic, Renaissance | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
31 May - 31 May
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat 10.00 - 18.00
Sun 10.00 - 18.00
Religious offices
Description
The church is a massive, imposing edifice, marked by the medieval tower of the 12th and 13th centuries, and it is still imposing today. We know that the first church dates back to before 1280. It had a defensive function for the population of the time. The current, larger church was built between 1628 and 1633. It retains a transept and chancel dating from 1567.
The variety of styles visible in the same building is unusual: the main building of the church was built in the Gothic style for the naves, the ogival style for the choir and the Mosan Renaissance style for the tower. At the height of the War of Religion, the church's scale, decoration and wealth made it a proud Catholic bastion against the Protestant world north of Clermont.
It possesses a treasure trove of great wealth, which is referenced and currently kept at the Grand Musée Curtius in Liège. Some of its works of fine silverware and rare silks are considered exceptional and are on permanent display there.
The patron saint, Saint James the Greater, was the originator of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. This explains why pilgrims from the north have been passing through the church for 700 years. In addition to its high-quality furnishings, the church contains relics of Saint James, Saint John and the Cross of Christ.
The church was listed in two stages: the choir, transept and narthex were among the first groups of listed monuments in Belgium on 15 March 1934. The rest of the sanctuary and the cemetery were listed on 12 October 1983. It also crowns one of the most beautiful villages in Wallonia and dominates its square.
Photos
Remarkable elements
The main altar
This remarkable whole is both lush as well as elegant and reminds one of the great Baroque works in Germany and Austria. A beautiful altar in black marble with a sarcophagus in white marble was built around 1730. Resting on four clustered columns covered in faux marble, a monumental crown piece reveals its irregular shape. It reveals a retable of 4 by 2.10 meters that depicts the Saints who gather before the Holy Trinity whose glory they are celebrating. It is signed in the lower right of the retable. An ornament with the inscription SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA (English: to God alone be honor and glory) adorns the whole.
The baptismal font
It dates from the first church (before 1280). Originally it stood on the cemetery outside the church. In 1913, it was brought back to the church. It was first attached to the baptistery in the narthex, but is now located in the choir, at the front of the northern aisle. It is completely sculpted out of a marble monolith and it has a circular tub, decorated with four slanted human heads covered in mascarons (presumably a reference to the four rivers of Paradise). The baptismal font is supported by a large central sandstone column.
The organs
The parish records first mention the organ in 1736. The organs were installed in 1737 and ready for use. They were partially funded at the time by donors, but in order to build them the village meeting consented to “the felling of as many trees as needed in the forests of Clermont”. Since their deployment, the organs have been restored in 1851, 1894, and recently in 1974. During the most recent restoration, all the very old, high-quality parts (17 of the 21 stops are of excellent craftsmanship) were supplemented with essential additional stops. These unique organs are exceptional and renowned.
The pulpit
The pulpit was built in the esthetically pleasing Louis XV style by furniture maker R. Delcommune of the Maastricht regional style and was installed together with the four confessionals in 1768. This style takes part of its inspiration from nature. The use of an abundance of elegant curvatures, asymmetrical shapes and delicate details such as shells, foliage, and curls that highlight no less than 9 sculpted symbols on the tub, the baluster at the entrance, and the baldachin. The column’s covering depicts Saint James the Great, clothed in pilgrim’s habit, in ecstasy of the apparition of the Virgin Mary which is depicted by sun rays exuding from an aureola. The deciphering of all these metaphors could have been the starting point of an escape room!
Stuccoes
As fragile and delicate art heritage, stuccoes were often applied in the decorative art of the church in Clermont. The ceilings of the central nave and the northern and southern aisles are covered in extensive stuccoes, with as its main characteristic the great diversity in foliage, festoons, and volutes. The recent prestigious restoration of the church naves strongly highlights these essential decorative elements.
