Saint Peter
Mathieu De Layensplein
3000 Leuven
Church | 1410 | Gothic | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 April - 30 September
Mon 10.00 - 16.30
Tue 10.00 - 16.30
Wed 10.00 - 16.30
Thu 10.00 - 16.30
Fri 10.00 - 16.30
Sat 10.00 - 16.30
Sun 11.00 - 16.30
01 October - 31 March
Mon 10.00 - 16.30
Tue 10.00 - 16.30
Wed -
Thu 10.00 - 16.30
Fri 10.00 - 16.30
Sat 10.00 - 16.30
Sun 10.00 - 16.30
Closed : 1/01 - 2/01 - 15/8 - 25/12 - 26/12
Religious offices
Description
The collegial church of Saint Peter is a masterpiece of Brabant style Gothic. It is the oldest church in Louvain, being built originally in Romanesque style in 986. Destroyed by a fire in 1176, the present, gotich church dates from 1425.
Badly bomb-damaged in 1944, the church has undergone significant restoration. In the 16th century the church should have had three high towers but as the ground was sandy and unstable the building work collapsed every time. Thus the towers remained unfinished.
From the outside you definitely notice the choir with the seven chevettes. Between two of them an extra chevette was built for 'Fiere Margriet', a saint of the people.
Inside, the choir opens behind a superb rood-screen (1499) dominated by a large Christ on a cross. Underneath the choir is an ancient Romanesque crypt, the sepulchre of the Counts of Louvain.
The 'Treasury of Saint Peter' can be found in the choir with as show piece The Last Supper (1464) by Dirk Bouts. De Noblemen Triptych is a copy from Rogier van der Weyden.
Unfortunately it is impossible to list here the other splendours in this church but many of its works of art are worth taking the time to visit and admire. Definitely take a look at the sacrament tower (circa 1450) and the mausoleum of Henry I, first duke of Brabant, in the presbytery (13th century)
From the outside on the Grote Markt square you have a spectacular view on the carillon and the timekeeper with Jacquemart.
Photos
Media
Remarkable elements
Pulpit and 'Sedes Sapientiae'
The impressive pulpit (1742) made by Jacques Bergé depicts the fallen Saint Norbert. It was moved from the Norbertine Abbey in Ninove to the Saint Peter’s church in 1807. Churches often took ‘second-hand’ items from other sacred buildings, for instance when a monastery was closed. Near the altar is a statue of the Virgin Mary on a throne (1442), the so-called ‘Seat of Wisdom’. This Sedes Sapientiae has been the emblem of the University of Leuven since 1908.
'Treasury of Saint Peter'
The treasury of Saint Peter in the choir is part of Leuven’s M-Museum. One ticket grants access to both permanent and temporary collections in the church and museum. The church displays fine religious metalwork and devotional paintings, most linked to Saint Peter’s Church. Highlights include gold and silver relics from the 15th to 17th centuries, key masterpieces of M’s precious metalwork.
Mausoleum
The sacrament tower (circa 1450) and the mausoleum of Henry I (13th century), the first duke of Brabant, can be found in the choir, and they are definitely worth a visit. Henry’s wife, Machteld of Boulogne, and his daughter, Mary of Brabant, also have a mausoleum (13th century) in the last chapel on the tour.
Flemish Primitives
Highlights in the treasury are the Noblemen triptych (1443), a copy of the Deposition (1435) by Rogier Van der Weyden (the original can be found in the Prado in Madrid), and two pieces by Dirk Bouts: The Last Supper (1464-1468) and the Torture of Saint Erasmus (ante 1464). These masterpieces by the hand of two Flemish Primitives have been admired for over 500 years in the church for which they were made, which is quite unique.
Renaissance paintings
Four panels of the Renaissance paintings of Leuven are put in the spotlight in another side chapel. The Fall of the Rebel Angels and The Beheading of John the Baptist (anonymous, first half of the 16th century) are the preserved side panels of a triptych made for the Saint Sebastian chapel in the Saint Peter’s church. Jan Rombouts, the most important Renaissance Master, was only ‘rediscovered’ in 2011 after thorough research. More of his work can be admired in M.
