Matheus de Layens (d. Leuven, 3 December 1483) was a Brabantine architect from the 15th century. He was employed in Leuven from 1433, first under the architect Sulpitius van Vorst (d. 1439), and afterwards under Jan Keldermans II, whom he succeeded in 1445 as master mason. In that capacity he developed the town fortifications and led the construction of the

Leuven Town Hall The Town Hall (Dutch: ) of Leuven, Belgium, is a landmark building on that city's ''Grote Markt'' (Main Market) square, across from the monumental St. Peter's Church. Built in a Brabantine Late Gothic style between 1448 and 1469, it is famou ...

(1448–1469), as well as the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

of the Saint Peter's Church. The sacrament tower of that church, built in 1451, is also attributed to him. Around 1450, de Layens worked on the St. Leonard's Church in

Zoutleeuw Zoutleeuw (; french: Léau ) is a municipality and city in the Hageland, in the extreme east of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 8,498 inhabitants. The total area is 46.73 km2, giving a populati ...

, the "Our Lady of the Pool" (''Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ten-Poel'') church at

Tienen Tienen (; french: Tirlemont ) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises Tienen itself and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete ...

, and the St. Sulpitius Church at

Diest Diest () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around ...

. From 1457 he took over, from architect Jan Spijkens, the construction of

Saint Waltrude Collegiate Church Saint Waltrude Collegiate Church is a Catholic parish church in Belgium, named in honour of Saint Waltrude of Mons. The church is a notable example of Gothic architecture, and is protected by the heritage register of Wallonia. History The histo ...

at Mons, and restored the town hall there in 1479. His last work (1480–1487) was the monumental Round Table building (''het Tafelrond'') on the east side of Leuven's Grote Markt square. The building was torn down and replaced in about 1818, but was reconstructed in its original style and location in 1921.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Layens, Matheus De Layens, Matthijs de Layens, Matthijs de Layens, Matthijs de Layens, Matthijs de Year of birth unknown