St. Andrew's Church, Antwerp

St. Andrew’s Church (Dutch: Sint-Andrieskerk) is a Catholic church in Antwerp built in the 16th century. Its exterior is mainly characterised by a late-Gothic style while its interior is predominantly executed in Baroque style. It is the parish church of the Parish of St. Andrew’s.

Construction of the church commenced in the 16th century by Augustine friars who had built a convent with a chapel at the same location in 1513. The Augustinians decided to build a church there in 1514 but when they were accused of Lutheran sympathies the grounds were taken from them. In 1527 the site was parceled to finance the building of the church. The former convent chapel was expanded and then consecrated as a parish church in 1529. The church was later expanded with a tower in the west and a transept.

In 1549, city politician and ecclesiastic Nicolaas Beukelaer endowed the church with a prebendary to assist with the administration of the church.

During the Beeldenstorm of 1566 the church interior was destroyed. The church was divided up between Catholics and Calvinists in 1568. In 1579 the division was made permanent through the construction of a dividing wall. In 1581 the Calvinists denied the Catholics access to the church and demolished the part of the church that was assigned to the Catholics. After the Fall of Antwerp in 1585 and the defeat of the Calvinists, the church was returned to the Catholics. The church was decorated with new altar pieces by leading Antwerp artists such as Otto van Veen, Maerten de Vos and one of the many members of the Francken family who lived nearby.

In the middle of the 17th century a large construction campaign was started. First an arch was built over the nave and the transept destroyed by the Calvinists was rebuilt and expanded. In subsequent years, the church was further expanded with a choir with two bays and later with two chapels. In 1755 the tower of the church collapsed and a new Baroque tower designed by Engelbert Baets was constructed inside the western bay of the nave.

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