St. Lawrence Church

The St. Laurentius Church also contains Byzantine features. At the time this church was built, Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. For the German emperors, on whose territory this church also stood (even if only on the edge, as the Scheldt a bit further formed the border), Constantinople and its architecture were a particular attraction that they also liked to see reflected in their own architecture. Thus, the eastern choir section with its two altar levels refers to Byzantine centrally planned churches such as the famous Hagia Sophia. In centrally planned architecture, the layout of a building is strongly focused on the center.

You will also find wall paintings in Byzantine style that were discovered during restoration. In the eastern choir, there is a magnificent Christ in Majesty executed in fresco technique with extensive use of lapis lazuli, a particularly expensive blue stone that comes from Afghanistan. In the western choir, you will find a Byzantine Mary.

The fact that such experts were brought here at that time to create this indicates the imperial significance of this St. Laurentius Church.

Dromos