Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church (Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk), Ostend

Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk (Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul), the main church of Ostend, Belgium, is a Roman Catholic Neo-Gothic church. It is built on the ashes of a previous church that occupied the site. King Leopold II enthusiastically supported a plan to build a new and more magnificent church. Construction started in 1899 and was completed and consecrated by Bishop Waffelaert on August 31, 1908. Its stained glass windows were destroyed during the two World Wars and were replaced by windows by Michiel Martens. The church is 70 meters long and 30 meters wide. Its spires are 72 meters high.
The church was built in the Neo-Gothic style according to plans by architect Louis Delacenserie, who based his design on the Gothic Cologne Cathedral and the Neo-Gothic Votivkirche in Vienna.

This neo-gothic church in the center of Ostend replaces St. Peter's Church, which burned down in 1896, leaving only the nearby brick tower (also called Peperbusse).The new church was a prestigious project of King Leopold II, who was so excited that he was suspected of fanatics of the fire regarding the fire of the original church. Architect Louis Delacenserie from Bruges was inspired by the "perfect plan" for a cathedral, such as the Cologne Cathedral and the Votive Church of Vienna. It is oriented to the west. King Leopold laid the first foundation stone in 1901. During the two world wars, the building was damaged.Between the two doors of the portal is a statue of Mary with the baby Jesus. To the left and right of the portal are the patron saints Peter and Paul.Behind the choir of the church is the Queen's Chapel with the white and green marble tomb of Queen Louise Marie (1812-1850), wife of Leopold I. On the outside, this chapel is richly decorated with gargoyles and statues of the canonized queens. Inside, visitors are greeted by two polychrome stone statues by H. Petrus and H. Paulus. The glass windows turn out to be the monarchy and after Christ.The stained glass windows tell the story of Ostend and depict the apostles, historical figures and local saints and biblical scenes. The church treasure includes silver objects and embroidered robes. On the window in the south transept we see the template of the Belgian prince and queen Louise -Marie.The interior is decorated in neo-gothic style. The church has stone figures of the Evangelists (P. Braecke), a white stone cross in relief (J. Gerrits), an oak choir stalls, communion stone benches, marble pulpit, confessionals of oak and blue stone and a brass baptismal font. In the northern transept is a large engraved copper plate for war victims.Sources :
Heritage Inventory, inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be
"St. Peter and Paul," city of Ostend, oostende.beKIKIRPA: Photothek online

The Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church is a neo-Gothic church (1905) with beautiful stained glass windows. The church also has two beautiful organs: at the back of the rood loft is the romantic Disc Organ, a masterpiece of twentieth-century organ building. At the front is the beautiful transept organ in Silbermann style, built in 2004 by the Thomas company from Francorchamps. In the chapel behind the main altar is the mausoleum of Queen Louise-Marie, the first queen of Belgium, who died in Ostend. Behind the St. Peter and St. Paul Church is the St. Peter's Tower, popularly known as Peperbusse. It is a remnant of the former St. Peter's Church that burned down in 1896.

Source: visitoostende.be/nl/sint-petrus-en-sint-pauluskerk