Begijnhofkerk St. Catherine

About

The Begijnhof church is the church of the Begijnhof Herentals, located on the Begijnhof.

History: The church was built in 1599 and was completed in 1614. A west portal was built in 1655. From 1780-1787 a large sacristy was built, where a school choir was first built. In 1874 the interior was changed into neo-Gothic style and some windows were also executed in this style. The church is surrounded by a former cemetery.

Building: It is a late Gothic pseudo-basilica with a short transept, bent saddle roof. Materials from the former beguinage outside the city have been used for construction. This concerned brick and sandstone, with which the layers of bacon were carried out in the façade. The northern transept has a staircase façade, as well as the adjacent sacristy. The southern transept facade is a spout facade of 1884. The choir is three-sidedly closed. On the saddle roof is a roof rider of 1754-1756 with pear-shaped crowning.

Interior: Most paintings are kept in the Beguinage Museum. The church has polychrome wooden statues from the 16th to the 19th century, including a calvary...