Sint-Pieterskerk

Around the Groenplaats in Old-Rekem, proclaimed the ‘Most Beautiful Village of Flanders’, you can find the baroque Museum Church of St. Peter. This church was built as a replacement for the chapel that belonged to the castle of Count Ernest d’Aspremont-Lynden. The construction began in 1704 but was only finished in 1723 because of disputes between the clerical and the secular authorities. The church burned down in 1755 and it took until 1774 before reconstruction started. This new church was in use until 1956 when a bigger church at Kleinveld was built.
In 1969 the church of St. Peter became protected heritage. Since 1970 this church is functioning as a Museum Church in which various cultural activities are held. The decor mainly dates back to the 18th century. It has several striking details such as trompe-l’oeil effects, a stately procession door, a Roman baptistry and a Holy Well. In one of the steps of the altar rails a copper country rod (1787) lies embedded. It measures 4.4791 metres which used to be the gauge for all the farm steads in the former county. In addition this church also has a remarkable scaffolding.

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