Church of Gesu

The church of the Gesu was built in the 19th century and is now desacralized. From 1860 to 1865, Louis Pavot built a neo-gothic church for the neighbouring Jesuit community. Between 1937 and 1939, the church was enlarged with a façade on rue Royale, as the neo-gothic church is no longer visible from the street. The new brick façade was designed by the architect Antoine Courtens with a bell tower in a distinctly Art Deco style, while the entrance portal, with a wide arch, a tympanum and statues of the twelve apostles and surmounted by a rose window, retains a soberly traditional style.

About this building

Key Features

  • Architecture

Other nearby buildings

Wikimedia Commons/Marcvandersmissen

Royal Church of Sainte-Marie

The Royal Church of St. Mary was built from 1845 to 1888 in the Romano-Byzantine style. The architect of the church, Louis van Overstraeten, was inspired in his design by the octagonal basilica of St. Vital in Ravenna (Italy). Deteriorating rapidly after the war, the Royal Church of St. Mary was closed to the public in 1966 because it was considered too dangerous. The church was saved by the "Friends of St. Mary's Church" association, which obtained its classification as a historical monument in 1976. After 14 years of renovation, the church was reopened to the public in 1996.

Saint-Josse Church

The Saint-Josse church is a neo-baroque church built in 1867 by the architect Jules-Jacques Van Ysendyck. It is a listed monument since 2009.

Wikimedia Commons/Kersti Steinwald

Church Notre-Dame du Finistère

The church Notre-Dame du Finistère was built in the 15th century as a small chapel. The church was rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century as the area was urbanized, but the present building is a third reconstruction, started in 1708 and completed in 1730. Since then, the upper part of the façade was built and crowned with an octagonal dormer window in 1828 and a statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by the 12 stars of the Apocalypse was fixed there in 1857.