Passing this church every time in Leuven I could not leave it unnoticed.
The church was built between 1650 and 1666 of white sand and iron stone. The façade with Ionic columns, pilasters and friezes has the appearance of an altar. The size of this church is impressive because I haven’t seen one like it before. The church was almost completely destroyed in 1944. Miraculously, only the facade survived. The reconstruction of the church was completed in 1950.
Since May 2021 you can see in the church a historically reconstructed reconstruction of the baroque organ that Heinrich Andreas Kontius built in 1769 for the Holy Trinity Church in Liepaja (Latvia). Johann Sebastian Bach highly regarded G. A. Kontius as an organ builder, and the Liepaja organ is the only complete Kontius organ to have survived.
Viewed from the perspective of history, it would be no exaggeration to say that the reconstruction of this organ creates unique conditions in which the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, his sons and contemporaries, can be performed in the best possible conditions.
Location: Naamsestraat 57a, 3000 Leuven
If you also want to see this church, also don’t pass by the Noir coffeebar, which is on one street below the church. Visited it a couple of times already and was left with a good impression and an aftertaste of aromatic coffee. Coffee lovers will love it there!
