Sint-Andrieskerk

Sint-Andrieskerk is a Catholic church in Antwerp with a late-Gothic exterior and a mainly Baroque interior. Augustinian friars began building it in 1514, and the former convent chapel became a parish church in 1529. Its western tower and transept joined later additions, giving the building a layered shape shaped by centuries of change.

Religious conflict transformed the church during the sixteenth century: the interior was destroyed during the Beeldenstorm in 1566, and Catholics and Calvinists later divided the building. After Antwerp returned to Catholic rule in 1585, artists including Otto van Veen, Maerten de Vos and the Francken family supplied new altarpieces. The tower collapsed in 1755, while bombing and fire damaged the church again in 1830, followed by Gothic Revival stained glass from 1863.

Inside, Baroque furnishings sit among paintings by Ambrosius Francken, Hendrick van Balen, Frans Francken the Younger and the workshop of Anthony van Dyck. The high altar includes Pieter Verbrugghen I’s 1665 predella, and Engelbert Baets designed the organ case in 1779. One vivid detail dates from 2001: Ann Demeulemeester dressed the 1585 statue of Our Lady of Succour and Victory in modern clothing for Antwerp’s Fashion Year.