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St. James' Church

St. James' Church

Herman de Waghemakere, Domien de Waghemakere & Rombout Keldermans

Photo: Lieven Smits · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Antwerp, Belgium
Client / Owner
—
Year
Completed 1656
Access
Tickets required
Typology
Spiritual

St. James' Church in Antwerp is a former collegiate church and still a pilgrimage church for those traveling to Santiago de Compostela. It began as a pilgrim guesthouse and chapel, built from 1404 to 1413, and became a parish church in 1478. Construction of the church began in 1491 and was completed in 1656, with interruptions. Members of the Waghemakere family and Rombout Keldermans worked on it. The style is Brabantine Gothic, with a Baroque interior.

The planned tower would have been about 150 meters tall, but construction stopped at about one third of that height. A row of chapels along both aisles gives the nave a three-dimensional effect.

The church has about 24 altars and more than 1,300 graves, including the tomb of Peter Paul Rubens and his wife Helena Fourment. Rubens married her here on December 6, 1630.

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