Saint Amandus Church

The church and the remarkable rectory next to it were built in 1865 according to a design by the Bruges architect Antoine Verbeke. At that time, both civil and ecclesiastical architecture showcased the new style, the neo-Gothic. Both facades are made of red bricks from West Flanders. Only the coping stones and windows are made of hard stone. The facades of the monastery buildings behind the church are also made of the same brick.
The group of buildings is a landmark at the intersection of two major roads. The north-west side of the church itself is the most interesting because it consists of various harmonious parts: the asymmetrically placed tower marked by four castle-like turrets, the pointed arch window with Gothic tracery above the entrance portal, the round stair turret at the angle between the portal and the tower, the gable of the transept with the high gable, etc.
On old postcards, it can be seen that the interior is plastered and neo-Gothically polychromed. The church was damaged in WWI and rebuilt in 1922 according to the original plan. The warm polychromy in the church is striking. The pictorial decoration in the blind pointed arch niches at the altar depicts the twelve apostles. Above the altar, there are also stained glass windows in the neo-Gothic style. Most of the furniture, the entrance portal with the choir loft, and the sandstone baptismal font are also neo-Gothic. Also notice the colors of the marble of the new altar, entirely in accordance with neo-Gothic tradition.
The pillars represent the saints. St. Amandus, the patron saint, stands at the front right. On the north facade stands a beautiful Calvary group. These statues stood in the elements on the north side under a small roof. We found these treasures in the attic; unfortunately, they are heavily damaged.

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