Saint Bertin
Garenstraat/Vroonhof
8970 Poperinge
Church | XVIII | gothic | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 8.30 - 18.30
Tue 8.30 - 18.30
Wed 8.30 - 18.30
Thu 8.30 - 18.30
Fri 8.30 - 18.30
Sat 8.30 - 18.30
Sun 8.30 - 18.30
Religious offices
Description
Poperinge is an old medieval city whose lord was the abbot of Saint Omer. Three monumental churches still bear witness to the former splendour of the city.
The collegial church of Saint Bertin, which is the principal church of Poperinge, is an example of a Flemish ‘hallekerke’ (construction of the church according to the plan of a covered market), with three naves that have the same height and width. It was rebuilt after the fire of 1419. It owes its name to Saint Bertin who was the abbot at Saint Omer in the 7th century.
The lower part of the old pre-Gothic tower probably supported a tower similar to that of the church of Notre-Dame. The lantern tower dates from the 18th century.
When one looks at the façade, one notices that the alcoves are empty. The statues were destroyed by the ‘Beeldenstorm’ (iconoclasm). Around 1566, this popular Calvinist movement, which was against the representation and the adoration of the saints, destroyed statues and other riches in the churches in the Low Countries.
After this disastrous period, the church was embellished among others in the 17th century with a magnificent rood screen adorned with statues representing Jesus and the Apostles and in the 18th century with richly sculpted Baroque confessionals and a monumental cathedra of truth in the Baroque style borne by three saints of the order of the Preaching Friars.
For people who want to know more about this: the altar is surmounted by a canvas by Desremaux (18th century); the tabernacle of copper and silver is the work of P. and H. Boeys (18th century).
KIKIRPA : Photo-library online
Photos
Media
Remarkable elements
Pulpit
The oak baroque pulpit from the 18th century is one of the most beautiful in the country. It shows the church Fathers, the theologians of the early christian church: Hieronymus of Bethlehem, Gregory the Great, Augustine of Hippo and Ambrose of Milan. Three Dominican friars support the pulpit: Albert the Great with torch, Thomas of Aquino with monstrance and Hyacinthus of Poland with the Holy Mary.The overhead board is supported by playful angels and shows the bust of the fourth dominican, Saint Dominic holding a star. We also see the symbols of the four evangelists: the eagle (John), the bull (Luke), the winged lion (Marc) and the angel (Matthew).
Canopy
The canopy shows a picture of a woman, symbolizing mother earth. It also carries the symbols of the 4 evangelists: Matthew as a winged human being (or angel), Marc as winged lion, Luke as winged bull and John as an eagle. On the four corners stand a pope, two bishops and a monk. The rococo construction in lime tree wood dates from 1755.
Group of sculpted figures
There are seven sculptures, five as a group in the back of the church and two next to the east pillars. Until 2015 it was assumed that they came from the convent of West Vleteren, but closer study of the archives revealed that the sculptures, with the exception of the soldier and the bishop, were already in this church and probably date from the late 17th century (research done by eng. arch. Dries Vanhove). The group was recently placed on the pedestal designed by Paul Nolf and executed by Rik Dequeker – VTI Poperinge.
Organ
Records revealed that an organ was already here prior to 1500. In 1674 Jan Van Belle (Ieper) was asked to repair the organ. Between 1674 and 1806 Guillaume Van Belle worked on the restoration. In 1806 it was moved from the choir organ loft to the west organ loft. In 1835 and in 1903 more restoration followed. In 1948 the firm Loncke (Zarren) again transformed the organ and recently (2008-2011) a full restoration, subsidized by the Flemish Regional Government, was done by Jef Braekmans (Vorselaar) and organ builder Guido Schumacher (Baelen on the Vesder).
Tables of the Brotherhood
The oldest brotherhood is that of the Holy Sacrament (1478). One table depicts the purgatory, the other one shows the Eucharist (chalice, wafer and aureole). The wooden rococo sculptures are covered in gold leaf and date from end 1900.
Our Lady altar
The late Baroque altar of Our Lady was created by Judocus Dehaene from Ypres, who was responsible for the sculpture, and by Wenzel (Wenceslas) Haberlant from Poperinge, who took care of the carpentry (the architecture) of the altar. It was erected in the church around 1720.
The altar painting was painted in the first half of the 18th century by J. Desremaux. It depicts the domestic life of the Holy Family in Nazareth. We see Mary with the baby Jesus and Saint Joseph. Saint Anne is visiting with her parents Zacharias and Elizabeth. We also see angels, indicating that the Holy Family truly formed a heavenly home.
J. Desremaux is a painter from the Flemish school of the 18th century. Various paintings in St. Blasius Church in Krombeke, St. Marinus Church in Haringe and the painting of St. Sebastian in St. Vedastus Church in Reningelst are his work. Antoon Deschrevel dates Desremaux's work to around 1750 at the earliest (Biekorf 1952/10).
