St. Quentin's Cathedral ( nl, Sint-Quintinuskathedraal), also called Hasselt Cathedral, is 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 lette ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...

Belgium. Its construction began in the 11th century, and continued for two centuries. It was elevated to the status of cathedral in 1967 when the Diocese of Hasselt was created.

History

A first church was built in the 8th century, but was replaced in the 11th century by a new Romanesque building. In the 15th century, the choir was added, and four chapels rebuilt. Also in the 15th century, Hagenprekers of the Netherlands came to preach

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in Hasselt, then followed a period of

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

. Maaseik Hasselt temporarily declared the separation of the church. During that time, he destroyed the

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

, statues, the side altar and the main altar, under the command of Gerard van Groesbeek. The tower of the present church dates from 1725; it was restored in the 19th century. At that time, Gothic stained glass and paintings from

Herkenrode Abbey Herkenrode Abbey ( li, Abdij van Herkenrode) was a Catholic monastery of Cistercian nuns located in Kuringen, part of the municipality of Hasselt, which lies in the province of Limburg, Belgium. Since 1972 some of the surviving buildings have ser ...

, an abbey near the town, were added. The walls are also decorated with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es by Godfried Guffens, a local painter. The cathedral houses the works of many centuries, beginning in the 15th century. Since 1993, the cathedral is a protected heritage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Quentin Cathedral, Church Roman Catholic cathedrals in Belgium Buildings and structures in Hasselt

History

See also

References