Sint-Antonius Abtkerk

This church was built 660 years ago as a replacement of the city’s first church situated within the lost Scarphout parish. During the winter of 1334-1335 the original church suffered severe damage from persistent storms, and so a new church building in early-gothic style was built in 1335-1358 and was initially twice as large as the current church. 
In the second half of the 16th century, the gothic church was bestowed by the Sea Beggars during the iconoclastic outbreak and was temporarily used as a Calvinist house of prayer. When the  insurgents were driven away, the church was left behind in a ruinous state which was to be rebuilt and redecorated in its baroque style throughout the 17th century. The western half of the building was to be demolished. A century later the church was decorated. A part of the decoration was funded by the fisheries. A boat from Blankenberge and the year “1763” that are inwrought in the ceiling of the right aisle are there to remind us of this.
As a result of the tourist success of Blankenberge in the 19th century a new church (Saint Roch) in the center of Blankenberge was built, and the Saint Anthony church was closed. The church was to be reopened in 1906 and served as a chapel of ease to the Saint Roch church until it was restored while maintaining its baroque interior during the 1920s. The church was once more elevated to parish church in 1928.

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