Church Of Saint Anne, Aldeneik
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The Church of Saint Anne (
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
: ''Sint-Annakerk'') is a partly Romanesque, partly
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
church in
Aldeneik Aldeneik, founded in 730, is a suburb of the Belgian town of Maaseik. It lies on the left bank of the river Meuse, close to the border with the Netherlands, close to where the Bosbeek runs off it. According to legend it sprung up around a monaster ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.


History

Originally, the church was part of Aldeneik Abbey, a Benedictine nunnery, founded by the holy sisters Harlindis and Relindis on their father Adelard's estate in ''Eike'' (Aldeneik). In the 10th century, emperor
Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...
donated the monastery to the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...
in order to prevent local nobleman from seizing control of the property. Shortly afterwards the nunnery was replaced by a
collegiate chapter In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...
of (male) canons, who in the 12th century built the Romanesque church which partly survives in the present building. Since the 16th century it has served as a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
parish church. Originally dedicated to Saint Mary, later to Mary and
Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...
, in the 18th century it was dedicated to Saint Anne.


Description church


Exterior

The present church was partly built in the 12th century and consists of a 3-aisle
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
in Mosan style, without
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
s. In the 13th or 14th century the choir was replaced in
Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...
. After the chapter moved to Maaseik in 1571, the church became too big for the small congregation that continued to use it. The aisles were probably demolished shortly afterwards. Part of the
westwork A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interio ...
was also demolished or destroyed. In the 19th century the westwork was rebuilt, although it was not clear what the original westwork had looked like. The side aisles were rebuilt in the same period. File:Kerk_aldeneik2.jpg, Westwork and tower File:Aldeneik, StAnnakerk02.jpg, Dwarf gallery File:Aldeneik, StAnnakerk07.jpg, View from the North File:Aldeneik, StAnnakerk08.jpg, Choir and rose window


Interior

The nave is the best preserved part of the original interior of the church, although the wooden ceiling was renewed in the 19th century. The primitive red and ochre murals in the nave date from the 13th century and are among the oldest in Belgium. The choir is lit by two rose windows and five lancet windows. File:Aldeneik, StAnnakerk09.jpg, View towards the choir File:Aldeneik, StAnnakerk10.jpg, North aisle File:Aldeneik, StAnnakerk12.jpg, Interior westwork File:Aldeneik, StAnnakerk13.jpg, Romanesque font


References

{{coord, 51, 6, 7.3, N, 5, 48, 20, E, source:nlwiki_region:BE_scale:1000_type:landmark, display=title Roman Catholic churches in Belgium Gothic architecture in Belgium Romanesque architecture in Belgium Mosan art Churches in Limburg (Belgium)