St Walburga Church, Modernist church in Zuid district, Antwerp, Belgium.
St Walburga Church is a church building in the south district of Antwerp, constructed as a single hall with no side aisles and a rectangular plan. Its exterior follows the New Objectivity style, with clean lines and no decorative detail on the facade.
The original church on this dedication stood near Het Steen fortress and dated back to around 900, before it was torn down in 1817. The present building was completed in 1936 as a new home for the parish at a different location in the city.
Inside, stained glass windows by Eugeen Yoors and stone carvings by Simon Goossens catch the eye as soon as you enter. Both artists were from the region, and their work gives the otherwise plain interior a sense of warmth and craft.
The church sits in the south district of Antwerp and is easy to reach on foot from the surrounding streets. A morning visit works well, as the light comes through the stained glass windows most clearly at that time of day.
The building was designed by Flor Van Reeth and Jan Smits, both linked to the Pelgrimbeweging, a movement that sought to rethink how religious spaces should look and function. What appears as simple design from the outside was in fact a deliberate statement about what a church should be.
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