Church Square 1 - Former home of Ferdinand de Boischot, Baron of Zaventem

By ministerial decree, in 1987, houses numbers 1 and 3 on Kerkstraat and number 1 on Kerkplein were protected as monuments. These are properties that previously formed one whole. The houses were built in 1609 on the orders of Ferdinant de Boisschot, Baron of Zaventem.

The section at Kerkplein number 1 is a residence with a side facade facing the street. The building is topped with a pointed gable roof on the street side and has two floors and an added attic level. The whole exhibits a whitewashed rubble stone construction of rough natural stone on a beveled plinth with basement windows on the street side. In the long facade, one discovers a heavy classical portal frame made of sandstone. A window is set within this.

The 18th-century portal frame has a rectangular shape with recessed grooves and a diamond-shaped key, framed between pilasters that carry an imposing protruding cornice. The two houses on Kerkstraat are buildings made of rubble stone, of which the core and some elements, including the plinth, the small basement and top windows, and a window frame in the rear facade, are original. The current appearance is the result of neo-traditional reconstruction. According to some historians, Van Dyck is said to have painted his famous work “Saint Martin Divides His Cloak” in this house. The fact is that de Boisschot donated the painting to Zaventem as thanks for his festive reception in the municipality upon his installation as Baron. He called upon his friend Van Dyck for this gift.

Gemeente Zaventem