Saint Lawrence Church Ename

The Sint-Laurentiuskerk is a church in Ename, a part of the Belgian city of Oudenaarde. The church is one of the best preserved early Romanesque churches in Belgium, built in Ottonian style. It is dedicated to Lawrence of Rome, a martyr of the 3rd century.

The Church of St. Lawrence was commissioned by Count Herman of Verdun (998-1024) during his tenure as Margrave of Ename. Ename was at that time on the border between France and the German Empire and therefore occupied a very strategic position. With the construction of the church, Herman of Verdun wanted to show his loyalty to the German emperor, hence the style of the large imperial churches.

In 1778 a classicist entrance gate was built on the tower. On the inside, the new entrance was covered with a round arch on which a rood screen was built. During renovation work on the church, the 18th-century organ front of the original Van Peteghemorgel was removed in 1992. Behind it, Romanesque murals in Byzantine style were discovered.

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