Sint-Michielskerk, Catholic parish church in Kortrijk, Belgium
Sint-Michielskerk is a Catholic parish church in the historic center of Kortrijk, Belgium, with two tall stone towers on its north side. The building has a three-aisled nave leading to a rounded choir, and its interior combines baroque details from the early 1700s with pointed arches and other elements added during a later renovation in 1886.
The church was built between 1607 and 1611 by city architect Jan Persijn for the Jesuit community, replacing an earlier 14th-century chapel known as the Holy Spirit Chapel. At the end of the 19th century the interior was remodeled in the neo-Gothic style, and in 1993 the Jesuits handed the building over to a local group called the Sint-Michielsbeweging.
Inside the church, a small 13th-century ivory statue of Our Lady of Groeninge is kept in a chapel added in 1947 in a neo-Byzantine style that stands apart from the rest of the building. Local tradition links this statue to the Battle of the Golden Spurs, when soldiers are said to have prayed before it before their victory over the French cavalry.
The church is in the old town center of Kortrijk and easy to reach on foot from most central points of interest. Visiting on a sunny day is a good idea if you want to see the stained glass windows at their best, as natural light brings out the colors clearly.
During World War II the church was heavily bombed and largely burned down, yet a single side altar holding a statue of Saint Michael survived the fire without damage. That statue is still in the church today, standing in the same spot it occupied when the rest of the building was destroyed around it.
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