St. Lawrence's Church, Ename

About

St. Lawrence's Church (Dutch: Sint-Laurentiuskerk) is the parish church of Ename, Oudenaarde, Belgium, dedicated to Saint Lawrence. It was built shortly before the year 1000 by Herman, Count of Verdun and is the only surviving Ottonian building in the village.

Ename was founded around 990 by Godfrey I, Count of Verdun, on the river Scheldt, the border between the Holy Roman Empire and the County of Flanders. Godfrey and his wife Mathilda of Saxony built a keep surrounded by a walled castrum, which protected the trade settlement. Their son Herman of Verdun, count of Brabant, founded the Church of St. Lawrence shortly before the year 1000. Herman showed his loyalty to the Ottonian emperor both with the architectural concept of the building, which had an eastern and a western choir, and with the choice of the patron saint. The Ottonian emperors had a special veneration for St Lawrence because on 10 August 955, the saint's feast day, Otto I won the Battle of Lechfeld against the Hungarians that had been regularly plundering Europe. At that moment Otto was the King of East Francia and after the victory the German lords raised him on their shields to celebrate his triumph and proclaimed him emperor. A few years later, on the strength of this acclamation, Otto went to Rome and had himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII.

When control of Ename passed to the count of Flanders Baldwin V and Saint Salvator abbey was built, the village and the church became part of its properties. St. Lawrence's Church became the parish church of the village and has remained in use until today.

St. Lawrence's Church was built with Tournai limestone. Archaeological excavations have shown that the church was originally conceived with a hall ground plan. During construction work, it was immediately enlarged and transformed into a building with a basilica floor plan with two lateral naves. It has an eastern and a western choir, according with the Ottonian architectural style. The eastern choir had two storeys: the second floor hosted a chapel, probably with a stone altar, which was open on the main nave thanks to a three-arched window. In the lunette above it, facing the main nave, a Majestas Domini was depicted in frescos, using lapis as blue pigment. The dimension of the church and the preciosity of the painting stated its importance and witnessed the intention of their founders of transforming Ename in a main trade center.

When the village became property of the abbey, in the 11th century, the commercial activity of the trade settlement moved to the near center of Oudenaarde and the population decreased. The church was then too big for the village and the abbey transformed the lateral naves in several side chapels dedicated to the cult of different saints.

In the 16th and 17th century the church was heavily modified. An octagonal structure was added on the top of the tower. Even if later removed, the weight of this addition provoked several damages in the structure of the tower. During the 1990s it was necessary to start the restoration of the building.

- 3D reconstruction of St. Lawrence's Church

- Around 1175 the church was damaged by fire, traces of which are still visible on the stones on the outside of the building.

- Around 1500 the church was restored and modified in several parts both in the inside and on the outside. The double east choir was substituted with a high space demarcated by a gothic arch. The final part of the bell tower was redesigned with an octagonal shape.

- 1578 - 1592 in this period the church was probably abandoned. After the iconoclastic fury of 1566, the tension between Catholics and Protestants in the area was constant. In 1572 Oudenaarde was conquered by the Protestants and in 1578 the monks of Saint Salvator abbey fled. They finally returned around 1592, as a record of 1593 attested the damage in the building. In a layer of the church corresponding to this period, archaeologists have found the remains of several pellets composed of mice bones. They consider these remains as evidence of the disuse of the church, where birds were able to easily enter and nest. The works of restoration of the church ended around 1622, when the repair of the roof was completed.

- 1655 the abbey commissioned a new Baroque furnishing for the Lady Altar. In 1666 they commissioned a painting of the Nativity from Simon de Paepe, a painter from Oudenaarde.

- 1762 the orientation of the church was transformed: the portal in the wider west choir was closed and the space was transformed into the main altar. A gate was opened in the east choir, towards the main square.

- 1770 a new organ was placed above the entrance in the east choir, where it remained until the restoration of 1999. The organ was made by the organist Van Petegem of Ghent.

- Around 1175 the church was damaged by fire, traces of which are still visible on the stones on the outside of the building.

- Around 1500 the church was restored and modified in several parts both in the inside and on the outside. The double east choir was substituted with a high space demarcated by a gothic arch. The final part of the bell tower was redesigned with an octagonal shape.

- 1578 - 1592 in this period the church was probably abandoned. After the iconoclastic fury of 1566, the tension between Catholics and Protestants in the area was constant. In 1572 Oudenaarde was conquered by the Protestants and in 1578 the monks of Saint Salvator abbey fled. They finally returned around 1592, as a record of 1593 attested the damage in the building. In a layer of the church corresponding to this period, archaeologists have found the remains of several pellets composed of mice bones. They consider these remains as evidence of the disuse of the church, where birds were able to easily enter and nest. The works of restoration of the church ended around 1622, when the repair of the roof was completed.

- 1655 the abbey commissioned a new Baroque furnishing for the Lady Altar. In 1666 they commissioned a painting of the Nativity from Simon de Paepe, a painter from Oudenaarde.

- 1762 the orientation of the church was transformed: the portal in the wider west choir was closed and the space was transformed into the main altar. A gate was opened in the east choir, towards the main square.

- 1770 a new organ was placed above the entrance in the east choir, where it remained until the restoration of 1999. The organ was made by the organist Van Petegem of Ghent.

Due to severe cracks in the tower of the church, in 1993 it was necessary to start the restoration of the building. On that occasion the foundations of the church were inspected. It was discovered that they were structurally sound, but they revealed some interesting features that pushed the archaeologist to plan a systematic research in the church. Work started in 1999 and lasted until 2002 and foreseen the excavation of the total surface of the church and its restoration. A European project was launched that aimed at the complete study of the building and at the reconstruction of its original 10th-century appearance by following a rigid scientifically supervised procedure. As the church was a used religious building, it was also important to preserve its role as an aggregation point for the local community.