Parish Church of the Holy Exaltation of the Cross and Saint Joseph

Moerkerkse Steenweg number 192. Oriented parish church of the Holy Exaltation of the Cross and St. Joseph. Early example of mature neo-Gothic architecture. Central and relatively isolated location on an elevated site in the village center, surrounded by streets that have, on one hand, a commercial function and, on the other hand, a school complex: Moerkerkse Steenweg and Boogschutterslaan, respectively to the south and north. Junction of several streets that were already present on the map of Marcus Gerards (1562): Schaakstraat on the southern side, Julius Delaplacestraat on the western side, and Polderstraat on the eastern side. Surrounded to the south and east by a partly renovated cemetery. Car parking in concrete pavers on the northern side. Church and urbanized village square on the western side. 850-950: probable foundation of the domain parish of St. Croix from the parish of Sijsele. 1089: oldest reliable mention of a domain chapel dedicated to Sancta Crucis, located along the former Roman route from Oudenburg to Aardenburg, situated on the Gera domain and placed under the jurisdiction of the chapter of canons of the Bruges St. Donaaskerk. 1183: a permit letter from Philip of the Elzas mentions the chapel of St. Croix. 1194: Countess Margaret I of the Elzas is temporarily buried in the church of St. Croix. 1275: the boundaries of the Bruges borough are established: the church is located within the Bruges Paallanden and falls under the authority of the lordship of St. Donaas. 13th century: oldest known use of a cemetery on the site cf. grave finds in the 19th and 20th centuries. 1297-1300: construction of the second city wall around Bruges, crossing through the parish of St. Croix. 1333: mention of the cemetery wall to which a solitary nun's dwelling is built. 1383: destruction of the first church by the people of Ghent; shortly thereafter, the construction of a second, cruciform and Gothic church with a heavy west tower, nave, transept, and north aisle. Late 15th - early 16th century: drawing of the second church on an anonymously painted map of Bruges. 1562: Marcus Gerards sketches the second church on his city plan of Bruges. Third quarter of the 16th century: drawing of the second church on the map of Jacob van Deventer. 1566: preaching by Calvinists at the cemetery. 1571: Pieter Pourbus sketches the second church on his map of the Brugse Vrije. 1574: Pieter Pourbus sketches the second church on his map of the Wateringen of den Broeck and Moerkerke-Zuid-over-de-Lieve. 1577: the Bruges city magistrate orders the demolition of the second church. 1585: based on the remains, the second church is rebuilt. 1612: construction of the third church. 1614: consecration of the third church by Bishop C.F. de Rodoan. 1652: addition of a south aisle. 1668: division of the parishes of St. Croix and St. Anna. 1690 and 1719: J. Lobbrecht sketches the third church on his maps of Bruges with the Paallanden. 1770-1778: designation of the third church on the Ferraris map. 1784: Emperor Joseph II prohibits further burials within the city walls, making the rural cemetery of St. Croix a refuge for the well-to-do Bruges bourgeoisie and aristocracy. 1793: on an engraving featuring the fleeing bishop F. Brénart, the church with portal, transept, south aisle, and bell tower is depicted. 1842: designation of the church on the P.C. Popp map. 1848: design by J.B. Bethune of the grave monument Dezitter - Pottevyn. 1849: design by T.H. King of the grave monument Roskell – Kaye and construction of the neoclassical grave monument de Carnin de Staden, attributed to P.F. Buyck. 1851: dating of the plans based on the design of architect P.N. Croquison; due to lack of space and a too small bell tower, the existing church no longer meets the needs; the church factory opts for a complete rebuilding, with a location more to the west, because the existing walls and roof are in too bad condition, the church is too low relative to the surrounding cemetery, and for architectural style unity. 1854 and 1862: Baron A. de Peellaert aquarelles the third church and the surrounding cemetery. 1853: cornerstone laying of the fourth church by Bishop J.B. Malou. 1855: consecration of the church by Dean P.J. Tanghe. 1856: completion of the new church and demolition of the previous church. 1874: while digging a burial vault, a grave with paintings from around 1300 is found. 1879: design of J.B. Bethune for the neo-Gothic grave monument Sutton (now removed). 1931: construction of a new sacristy in Art Deco according to the design of architect M. Allaert. 1948 and 1965: discovery of medieval graves. 1960s and 1970s: consecutive reduction of the cemetery due to partial renovation, with construction of the parking lot north of the church and the widening of the surrounding streets. 1966: complete whitewashing of the polychrome interior. 1987-1995: partial, neo-Gothic polychrome of the interior. 2000: inauguration of the artwork In hoc signo vinces, executed by J. Boudens.

Floor plan. Portal under west tower, flanked by baptism and mourning chapels. Passages between the portal and chapels to small rooms and stairs to the doxal and tower. Nave of three bays, pseudo-transept, aisle chapels of one bay, choir of three bays, and three-sided apse. Choir built in by boiler room and sacristy. In 1931, a larger sacristy was added to the southeast of the sacristy, now weekday chapel.

Materials. Yellow-colored brick construction combined with blue stone for sills, eaves, and drip stones and limestone in the window openings. Euville stone for door and window openings of the added sacristy. Interior fully plastered, composite pillar bases in blue stone and flooring in Basècles tiles. Entirely covered with saddle and shed roofs with slates and equipped with owl roofs.

Exterior. Front. Symmetrically constructed west facade with a centrally placed bell tower on a square ground plan. Strong vertical effect due to repeatedly tapering buttresses on the sides of each bay. Blue stone drip stones at the level of the tapering. Profiled pointed arch portal with wooden gate and blue stone upper threshold on which calvary figures in painted terracotta stand. Tower facade opened up by the stacking of profiled and unequal pointed arch openings with tracery and drip list. At the level of the bells on each side pointed arched biforas as sound holes. Tower clock placed in gables. Octagonal tower spire covered with slates, equipped with four dormers with window openings, wrought iron finials, and monumental tower cross. Side bays with gable and blue stone cross. Facade surface, each opened up with profiled pointed arch openings, in which tracery. In the gable top, each time a profiled, triangular and blind facade opening. Side facades. Facades of side aisles rhythmically structured by tapering buttresses between which four bays, each with a profiled pointed arch opening equipped with uneven tracery. Light aisle with lesenes and per bay linked and profiled lancet windows, continued in side facades of the transept. Transept facades with gable, opened up with a profiled pointed arch opening with tracery. Choir and apse opened up with a profiled pointed arch opening per bay, with tracery. Wrought iron cross on the roof above the apse, in the roof a hatch opening. In the side facades, gravestones are applied. Window openings of later added sacristy secured with decorative ironwork in Art Deco. Calvary cross with 18th-century wooden Christ figure, under the baldachin, placed against the apse.

Interior. Architecture. Three-aisled, oriented cross church of the basilical type. Nave with two-fold elevation. Profiled pointed arch arcade on bundle pillars. Arches supported by composite knob capitals on which the ribbed vaults rest. Plastered vaults. At the level of the light aisle, linked lancet windows per bay. Transept with heavier crossing pillars. Vault of the transept, choir, and apse also provided with arches with knob capitals and ribbed vaults.

Furnishings. 16th-century Renaissance commemorative stone in the north aisle. Classicist baptismal font executed by E. Feys (1790-95). J.B. Bethune made neo-Gothic designs for pulpit (execution M. Abeloos 1860), high altar (execution M. Abeloos 1861), stained glass windows in the apse depicting prophets, the genealogy of Jesus and apostles (Bethune studio 1864), Maria altar (execution M. Abeloos 1866), tabernacle (A. Bressers - L. Blanchaert studio 1866), stained glass windows in the choir depicting patriarchs and saints (Bethune studio 1867), St. Joseph altar (H. Pickery 1869), choir stalls (execution Charles Van Robays 1872). Stations of the Cross and communion table by F. De Vriendt (1875). Neo-Gothic statue of Our Lady with child from A. Bressers and L. Blanchaert studio (1871). P. Schyven organ from 1895, remodeled in 1988. After complete whitewashing in 1966, the interior was provided with a neo-Gothic polychrome in the 1980s and 1990s.

Cemetery. Along the southern, eastern, and partly northern side, the cemetery is bordered by a brick cemetery wall with blue stone cap stones (20th century). Wrought iron corpse gates at the southwest corner of the mostly grassy church square, brick gate pillars (19th century) each topped with blue stone balls. Cemetery surrounded including linden trees. Monumental yew tree north of the church near the graves of the building pastors A.G. Van Haverbeke and F. Verstraete (second half 19th century). Mainly blue stone grave monuments from the 19th and 20th centuries. Notable presence of graves of important families and individuals, including Gilliodts, Vermeulen, Van Outryve d’Ydewalle, De Peñaranda, De Schietere de Lophem, Gillès de Pélichy, De Maleingrau d’Hembise, Visart de Bocarmé, Van de Walle de Ghelcke and governors A. Ruzette and L. Janssens de Bisthoven. Also graves of English people from the 19th-century, living in the Catholic colony of Bruges. The art-historically most important monuments are the neo-Gothic graves of ‘Dezitter-Pottevyn’ designed by J.B. Bethune (1848), executed by K. Geerts, of ‘Roskell-Kaye’ designed by T.H. King (1849) and the neoclassical grave of the countly family de Carnin de Staden, attributed to P.F. Buyck. Mortuary chapel of the De Rycker-Valckenaere family and collection of cast iron crosses to the south of the church. On the church square, there are two monuments in white stone commemorating both World Wars, placed in front of a large holly bush. Monument for World War I by Bruges sculptor Gustaaf Pickery, inaugurated in 1919. Sculpture depicting the Virgin of Belgium with a palm branch over a fallen soldier and in the background a bust of the executed St. Crucian Julius Delaplace.

Onroerend Erfgoed Vlaanderen