Église Saint-Omer

English translation

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History

The origins of the present church date back to the 12th century. It was a building with a single nave, flanked by narrow aisles with projecting transept, crowned by a bell tower on a square tower at the crossing. The building subsequently takes the form of a Latin cross and, on the crossing, rises the square tower in Saint-Omer limestone. Under Charles V, a southern nave comes to join the right arm of the transept. This partial enlargement was to be part of a comprehensive project consisting of adding two naves to the original vessel. Burned and ravaged by the Gueux, the church was in ruins by 1585. Restoration from 1614 to 1633. The two gables with curve and counter-curve of the western façade, transformed at this time, give this church its original and unique character in Flanders. Numerous restorations in the 19th century. The glass painter Louis Koch created several stained-glass windows in 1903-1905.