Sint-Elooiskerk

Church street no. 1. St. Eloi Church Oriented neo-Gothic place of worship, rebuilt in 1918 according to the original plans of 1874 and designed by architect Leopold De Geyne (Kortrijk). The building is surrounded by various deciduous trees. At the front, there are some church benches, behind the choir lies a pastor's path. To the east, a memorial stone commemorating the former place of worship and a pre-positioned cast iron cross. To the northwest, a Sacred Heart statue made of white natural stone on a pedestal with the date "1924", the statue comes from a chapel in Bossuitstraat that was demolished in 1968. Also a calvary with an iron statue of Christ. Already in the 12th century, there was a place of worship on this site, around 1100 the first stone church was built, it is presumably a Romanesque cruciform church with a square central tower. The church and the surrounding cemetery belonged to the lordship of Kortrijk. The building stood on the land of the village lordship of Moen. The church was damaged during the religious troubles, restoration work took place from 1620-1622 when the restored church was re-consecrated. The church was also heavily damaged in 1694. In 1844, the place of worship was enlarged to a three-nave hall church, according to the design of C. Dehulst (Kortrijk). In 1874, the old building was demolished, a design by P.N. Croquison provided for the construction of a new church on the foundations of the old one, with the tower in the place of the former choir. Ultimately, a strongly related design by Leopold De Geyne was adopted and approved in 1874. The new place of worship was largely destroyed by fire in 1918. The rebuilding was done by Benoit Vuylsteke according to the original plans. The floor plan reveals: neo-Gothic three-nave place of worship with a fore-positioned western tower; sacristy to the northeast and a more recent service building to the southeast. Former baptismal chapel and stair tower to the southwest. The building is walled off to the southeast. Red brick construction, using blue stone for, among other things, the plinth, caps, edges, and window frames of the choir. Slate roofing. The tower is marked by cut buttresses at the corners, the first stage with pointed arch portal with coat of arms and relief in the arch field. Second stage with three pointed arch openings, two of which are filled with brick masonry. Bell openings and tower clock on the third stage. Tower with a conical spire topped with slender, eight-sided turrets at the corners, crowning cross and weather vane. Nave of seven bays with stepped frieze rhythmically arranged by pointed arch openings and cut buttresses. Eastern side post gables characterized by braid work. Choir of two straight bays and three-sided closure, also rhythmically arranged by cut buttresses and pointed arch openings. Interior. Plastered and painted white overall (cf. old postcards previously partially painted with figurative motifs), rhythmically arranged by pointed arches supported by columns with bud capitals, eight-sided blue stone bases. Second floor of the nave rhythmically arranged by low pointed arch three-lights. Vaulting by ribbed vaults supported by colonettes. Barrel vault in the choir. Black marble floor. Furniture. Completely and perfectly preserved neo-Gothic furniture. Main altar, marble altar table, and neo-Gothic altarpiece, also a preserved wooden altar table. Northern side altar with marble altar table and wooden altarpiece dedicated to O.-L.-Vrouw and southern side altar, wooden altar table and altarpiece dedicated to St.-Elooi. Two pulpits, choir benches and chairs, prayer benches for the side altars and statues, candelabra, and lectern. Marble baptismal font with copper lid above which is the wooden soundboard of the pulpit, the pulpit itself is missing. Wooden loft, organ in neo-Gothic sound case. Statues of O.-L.-Vrouw with child, St. Joseph with child, St. Roch, Sacred Heart, St. Rita (recent statue) and Christ on the cross. Figurative stained glass windows in the choir and in the eastern bay of the nave. ARCHIVE FLEMISH INSTITUTE FOR IMMOVABLE HERITAGE, Plans fund KCML, St. Eloi Church. DESPRIET P., The St. Eloi Church in Moen, in The South-West Flanders Parish Churches, Kortrijk, 1983, p. 252-261. Historical study chapels Moen, n.p., n.d., p. 19-20. ROOSE-MEIER B., VERSCHRAEGEN H., Photo repository of the Belgian places of worship, Province of West Flanders, Canton Kortrijk II, Brussels, 1979, pp. 37-39.

Onroerend Erfgoed Vlaanderen