Church of Our Lady, Gothic church in Aarschot, Belgium.

The Church of Our Lady in Aarschot is built of brown iron sandstone with light stone layers in the lower tower, a regional Demer Gothic variant of Brabantine high Gothic. It has a west tower with a Renaissance spire about 85 m high, a three-aisled nave from the early 15th century, a transept and a 14th-century choir. The choir is hidden behind a flamboyant stone rood screen carved with scenes of Christ's Passion and Resurrection, topped by a 15th-century triumphal cross.

This structure was built in the late 15th century as Aarschot grew in importance and later became a collegiate church with thirteen canons led by Anthony de Croÿ. French rule at the end of the 18th century ended this chapter when the building was forced to close.

The choir is hidden behind a flamboyant late-Gothic stone rood screen whose carved band shows scenes of Christ's Passion and Resurrection, with a 15th-century triumphal cross rising above it. The 1515 choir stalls carry satirical carvings on their misericords, among them Aristotle ridden like a horse, a naked woman on an ape, and a man relieving himself on the world.

The church stands in the centre of Aarschot, its 85-metre west tower visible from much of the town. The choir is hidden behind the rood screen, so walk around it to see the 1515 choir stalls and the five-metre painting of Christ in the winepress on the left choir wall. The 1646 Bremser organ was returned to the church and restored in 2012.

The wrought-iron chandelier of 1500 is attributed to Quinten Matsijs, the Louvain-born painter and metalworker. The choir stalls of 1515 carry carvings on their misericords that are satirical and sometimes crude: Aristotle ridden like a horse, a naked woman on an ape, a man relieving himself on the world.