St Martin's Church ( nl, Sint-Maartenskerk), also called St Martin's Cathedral ( nl, Sint-Maartenskathedraal), is a church and former cathedral in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

city of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

. It was a cathedral and the seat of the former diocese of Ypres from 1561 to 1801, and is still commonly referred to as such. At tall, it is among the

tallest buildings in Belgium These are lists of the tallest structures in Belgium, sorted by type. Tallest skyscrapers The vast majority of Belgium's skyscrapers are located in multi-municipal entity of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, which includes the City of Brus ...

History

Construction started on the church in 1230, and was finished in 1370. There had previously been a Romanesque church in the area, dating from the 10th or 11th century. The diocese was originally part of the Diocese of Thérouanne, which had been established in the 7th or 8th century. In 1553

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

besiege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

d the city of Thérouanne, then a French enclave in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, in revenge for a defeat by the French at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. After he captured the city he razed it. In 1557, as a result of the war damage to its see, the diocese was abolished. This led to a reform of sees at the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

, and the bishopric of Thérouanne was split between the

Diocese of Saint-Omer The former French Catholic diocese of Saint-Omer existed from 1559 until the French Revolution. Its see at Saint-Omer, in the modern department of Pas-de-Calais, was created as a reaction to the destruction of the see of Thérouanne, by military ...

, the

diocese of Boulogne The former French Catholic diocese of Boulogne existed from 1567 to the French Revolution. It was created after the diocese of Thérouanne was suppressed because of war damage to the see; effectively this was a renaming. The Concordat of 1801 su ...

and the Diocese of Ypres. With this, Saint Martin's Church was elevated to cathedral status, as it became the see of the new diocese. In 1656 the secular and religious authorities of the then

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...

destroyed the monument to Bishop

Cornelius Jansen Cornelius Jansen (, ; Latinized name Cornelius Jansenius; also Corneille Jansen; 28 October 1585 – 6 May 1638) was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres_in_Flanders.html" ;"title="atholic-Hierarchy]/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedra ...

in St Martin's Cathedral - a symbolic act as part of the increasing persecution of Jansen's disciples, the

Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

s. As noted by

Jonathan Israel Jonathan Irvine Israel (born 26 January 1946) is a British writer and academic specialising in Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment and European Jews. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies a ...

, "The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness and Fall", Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1995,p. 653 many of the Ypres citizens were angry and distressed at this demolition. After the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...

between

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and Pope Pius VII, Ypres was incorporated into the

diocese of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent (Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussel ...

, and Saint Martin's lost its status as a cathedral. As with many former cathedrals (

proto-cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

s), it is often still referred to as a cathedral by locals. It was heavily damaged during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Subsequently (1922–1930) the ruin was cleared and the church was entirely rebuilt following the original plans, although the tower was built with a higher spire than the original.

Tombs

, the father of the theological movement

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

, was Bishop of Ypres from 1635 to 1638. He is buried in the cathedral. Count Robert III of Flanders, popularly known as ''The Lion of Flanders'', is also buried in the cathedral.

Gallery

File:Sint-Maartenskathedraal.jpg, The church at night File:Grafrobrecht.jpg, Tomb of Count Robert III of Flanders, popularly known as ''The Lion of Flanders'' File:Kathedraalieper.jpg, The interior of the church File:Ieper - Sint-Maartenskathedraal 3.jpg, The facade of the side of the church Joris Liebaert, Het Beleg van Ieper in 1383 (1657).jpg, ''Siege of Ypres'' PM 127353 B Ieper.jpg, ''Jesus and the Samaritan woman'' (Matthijs De Visch) PM 127339 B Ieper.jpg, ''Maria'' (Victor Boucquet) PM 127327 B Ieper.jpg, ''Adoration of the Magi'' PM 127345 B Ieper.jpg, ''Bearing of the Cross''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Martins Cathedral, Ypres Churches completed in 1370 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings Gothic architecture in Belgium Buildings and structures in Ypres 1230 establishments in Europe Burial sites of the House of Dampierre