St. John the Baptist Church, a special construction by architect Cunibert

Maldingen probably had a modest church as early as the 11th century. As a market and courthouse, Maldingen had become an important place at the time. The first reference to a chapel can be found in the parish register of Aldringen in 1688. This chapel was dedicated to St. John the Baptist. In 1776 it was replaced by a new building (length 11.70 m, width 5.70 m). In 1915, the village community decided to replace the chapel, which was too small and dilapidated, with a new building located on the main road. After the laying of the foundation stone on 13 April 1925 and the inauguration of the "St. Janskerk Maldingen" on 31 August 1926 by the Liège auxiliary bishop Ludwig Joseph Kerkhofs, the old chapel served as an association room and rehearsal room for the church choir. Over the years and through the consequences of the war, she was scrapped in the fifties.

The new church was built to a design by architect Cunibert from Malmedy. The building, constructed of quarry stone, consists of three naves united under one roof. The 50 meter high tower is finished with a round, stepped helmet roof. This type of construction is typical of Cunibert, and the church he built in Medell also has such an onion dome. On December 27, 1944, the church was badly damaged in an air raid and had to be rebuilt after the war.
Easter Monday 1959 a new bell for Maldingen was christened by Dean Breuer Joseph. Scythe decorated with images of the two patron saints, St. John the Baptist and St. Lucia. On November 13, 1988, 2 new bells were installed by Dean Dr. Aloys Jousten from St.Vith.

Inside the church, the star-shaped net vault and the glass rosette are impressive. The altars, communion bench and holy water vessel are neo-Romanesque in style and made of black and white-brown marble. On the back wall under the organ is a niche of a baroque altar with a statue of the evangelist Matthew, probably from the old chapel. To the right of the confessional is an angel with a trumpet. The pulpit of the 18th century came from the church of Weiswampach.

Source: Churches and chapels in Eastern Belgium by Freddy Derwahl and Johannes Weber

Jan Rymenams