St. Walburga Church () or Burchtkerk was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, modern-day Belgium. It was demolished in 1817.

Early history

The church's history predates the 8th century. The very first chapel built within the walls on the right bank of the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

dates from 727, and was destroyed by the Normans in 836. In 900 a new burcht is built on the same spot with a new church, dedicated to

Saint Walpurga Walpurga or Walburga (; ; ; 71025 February 777 or 779) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 by Pope Adrian II. Walpurgis Night, Saint Walpurgis Night (or "Sankt Walpurgisnacht") is the name fo ...

, next to the fortress

Het Steen Het Steen is a medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's biggest ports. The surviving structure was built between 1200 and 1225 as a gateway to a larger castle of the Dukes of Brabant which was demolished in ...

. Under the direction of the Affligem monks the church is rebuilt in 1250, and in 1478 it becomes a parish church, also receiving a

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

and the right to bury. Another renovation, directed by architect de Waghemakere around 1500, again enlarges the church.

Interior

In 1609 the church council asked

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

to paint a triptych for the church. His ''

Elevation of the Cross The Elevation of the Holy Cross (), also known as the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 14. The feast is celebrated on the anniversary of the day on which St. Helena found th ...

'' was completed in 1610 and incorporated into the main altar. When in 1734 the old wooden altar was demolished and replaced by a stone altar made by

Willem Ignatius Kerricx Willem Ignatius Kerricx (Antwerp, baptized on 22 April 1682 – Antwerp, 4 January 1745) was a Flemish people, Flemish sculptor, painter, draftsman, architect, engineer, playwright and author active in Antwerp in the first half of the 18th century ...

, smaller parts of Rubens's triptych were sold because they did not fit the new altar. The first mass at the high altar took place on 11 June 1737. The triptych was removed in 1794 by French occupying forces and taken to Paris, and was later returned to Antwerp's Cathedral of Our Lady.

Closing, demolition

In 1798 the church fell victim to the French urge to close monasteries and churches, and that same year the Antwerp diocese was abolished. The church was used as a warehouse. The choir, including a covered walkway to Het Steen, was retained for a while but in 1816 the church was sold, and demolished the year after. The last remains of it were destroyed by fire. In the meantime the St. Paul's Church had been designated as the parish church. The removal of the St. Walburga Church left an open space, now called the Burchtplein, on which a statue to Peter Paul Rubens was placed. When the banks of the Scheldt river were straightened, the square disappeared and the statue was moved to the

Groenplaats The Groenplaats (Green Square) is a large square in the center of the Belgian city of Antwerp, situated south of the Antwerp cathedral. There are various trees with benches on the square, which is a 'resting place'. A statue of Rubens, designed ...

Willem Ignatius Kerricx - The raising of the brass snake

The

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

of the main altar representing the ''Raising of the brass snake'' made by

was reused for the main altar of the Antwerp Cathedral.Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, p. 1169-1170 The cathedral also holds the two marble medallions represenintg Saint Walburga and Saint Eligius, which Kerricx has produced for the altar in the church. The Our Lady’s Cathedral of Antwerp, a revelation. The high altar
/ref> Another altar was moved to the Saint Dionysius church in Tilburg, where it became the high altar. In 1936, a new, modernist church with the same name was built by Flor Van Reeth in the Zuid neighborhood of Antwerp.

Burials

* Joannes I Goubau, Lord of Saint-Fontaine, (1503-1581): marr. Joanne Cossiers. * Abrahem van Horne, marr. Barbe van den Gouwen. * Michiel Cornelissen Stellenaer, capteyn. * Jan Pieter van Baurscheit the Elder.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Walburga Church (Antwerp)

Wal WAL or Wal may refer to: Places * Wał, Lublin Voivodeship, village in eastern Poland * Wał, Masovian Voivodeship, village in east-central Poland Codes * Sierra Leone, country in West Africa, license plate code * Wales, constituent nation of ...

Buildings and structures demolished in 1817 Demolished buildings and structures in Belgium