The Church of St. Denis (french: Collégiale Saint-Denis) is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activities, ...

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

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 ...

. The

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

building was designed to be part of the city's defences. It was founded by

Notker of Liège Notker (or Notger) of Liège ( la, Notgerus; c. 940 – 10 April 1008 AD) was a Benedictine monk, bishop (972–1008) and first prince-bishop (980–1008) of the Bishopric of Liège (now in Belgium). Life Notker was born around 940 and probabl ...

in 987 and first consecrated on 12 March 990.Theodose Bouille, ''Histoire de la ville et pays de Liege''
vol. 1
(Liège, 1725), p. 75. The tower was added around 1100.

History

The Church of St Denis originally had the status of

collegiate church 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 ...

. It was one of the

seven collegiate churches of Liège The seven collegiate churches of Liège (french: sept collégiales de Liège) were a group of 10th- and early-11th-century foundations in the city of Liège. Each of these collegiate churches was a privileged corporation within the city, with its o ...

, which until the

Liège Revolution The Liège Revolution, sometimes known as the Happy Revolution (french: Heureuse Révolution; wa, Binamêye revolucion), against the reigning prince-bishop of Liège, started on 18 August 1789 and lasted until the destruction of the Republic ...

of 1789 collectively comprised the "secondary clergy" in the

First Estate The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

of the

Prince-bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial State, Imperial Estate, so the List of ...

. The church was suppressed in 1797, but the building was taken into use as a parish church in 1803.Eglise collégiale (heritage listing)
Wallonie patrimoine. Accessed 22 Feb. 2015. The church has since 1936 been included on a heritage register, and is currently listed as "exceptional heritage" of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of St. Denis (Liege) 990 establishments 10th-century churches 10th-century establishments in Belgium Former collegiate churches in Belgium Fortified church buildings Mosan art Romanesque architecture in Belgium Saint-Denis Towers completed in the 11th century Ottonian architecture Wallonia's Major Heritage