Sint-Landricuskerk is the

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 lette ...

parish church of

Echt Echt may refer to: * Echt, Aberdeenshire, a village in Scotland * Echt-Susteren, a municipality in the Netherlands ** Echt, Netherlands Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch municipality of Echt-Susteren in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. ...

, dedicated to .

History

The origin of the parish of Echt goes back to the period 400–700, but the oldest written document mentioning a church is from 928. Then patronage rights and tithing rights of the parish were donated to the Saint Servatius Chapter in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. This church was dedicated to

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

and possibly also

Saint Remigius Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

, the bishop of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. Later, Saint Landry became the second patron saint and after 1722 the sole one. The church was built in

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

stone in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

. In 1477 the Romanesque church was replaced by a Late Gothic structure, keeping the choir that dates back to 1400. In 1873, Dutch architect

Pierre Cuypers Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers (16 May 1827 – 3 March 1921) was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. M ...

was tasked with the renovation of the church. His intervention included enlarging the bays and the demolition, and replacement of the Romanesque tower with the current Neo-Gothic tower. The church and the bell tower sustained heavy damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, particularly in 1944. The church was restored in 1946 save its spire. The roof was restored to its original design. The tower crown was designed by H. Tillman, and made of concrete in 1958. During the post-war restoration, In 1966 the church was badly damaged by fire, and was again restored. In 1992 the church sustained damage as a result of an earthquake, and was repaired in 1994.

Location

Sint-Landricuskerk borders the historical center of Echt, situated on a low hill. In front of the church is a traffic-free square, and it is surrounded by a cemetery.

Architecture, interior and relics

Sint-Landricuskerk is a three-aisled hall Neo-Gothic church with a three-sided closed choir. It has an annexed sacristy and an articulated tower with a stair turret and a high, modern crown. The ceiling is of simple rib vaults. The spaces between the inwardly built buttresses at the side aisles are covered with narrow cross vaults. The interior was painted by Dutch painter Hubert Hendrik Jacob Kurvers during the 1994 restoration. The church contains a number of historical items and relics. Two oak choir stalls date to the 17th century; it also has four 18th century confessionals. The marble baptismal font is from the 2nd half of the 17th century. A wooden crucifix is roughly dated to the 16th century, and a wooden statue of Saint Martin and a terracotta statue of Saint Francis date to the 17th century. The church tower was restored with its clock that is believed to have been made my master clockmaker Henricus in the 13th century. In 2014, the church became an official pilgrimage site for

Saint Edith Stein Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce ; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a D ...

, a Jewish-Catholic philosopher nun from the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

convent in Echt. The church has a memorial dedicated to the saint, it consists of a lectern and a triptych by artist Karin Deneer, and a display case housing the choir robe of Stein, which she wore when she was deported in 1942.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{coord, 51.10706, 5.86741, format=dms, type:landmark_region:NL, display=title Churches in the Netherlands