The Oldest Church of Brussels?

Around the beginning of 1100s, the Earls of Leuven built a castle on top of a militarily-strategic hill known as Koudenberg, above a small settlement in a marshy wetland known as Broeksele. It is likely that the Sint-Jakob-op-Koudenberg started out as a chapel attached to that castle. It was certain that it expanded quickly. The earliest record of a church was in 1190 and the names of staff were known in 1121.

Historian Vannieuwenhuyze argues that in fact, the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg could have been the oldest church of Brussels, even though it was only recognised as a parish church after the Sint-Gorikskerk and the Sint-Michaëlskerk (the later Collegiale kerk van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele) in 1622.

The reason for his position is the premise that Koudenberg (spelled also as Coudenberg) is the oldest attested toponym in Brussels. This points to its origin as a military outpost for the ruling Earls of Leuven. The reason why Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg only became a parish church later than the other two churches is not because it is less old, but because due to the subsequent trade and population growth, the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg which previously only served as a church for the castle also now serves an expanding civilian population that spread towards the higher grounds of Koudenberg.

The Foundation Myths of the Sint-Jacob-op-de-Koudenbergkerk

19th century historians Henne et Wauters argued in their book “Histoire de la ville de Bruxelles. Volume I-III” against the foundation myths of the church.

The first myth, was that the church was founded by Louis the Pious (813–840) [NL: Lodewijk de Vrome, FR: Louis le Pieux], King of the Franks and son of Charlemagne. He supposedly established the church in 850 during the time of Pope Gregory III (?-741), and then gave it to a community of canons from Savoy. This was highly impossible because the existence of Brussels was then not substantiated and Gregory III had already been dead before Louis was born.

The other myth was the establishment of the Sint-Jacob-op-de-Koudenberg monastery by Duke Godfried I (with the Beard) of Leuven and of Lower Lorraine (?-1139). Godfried I was supposedly on his way back after a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and had met with a storm at sea. He prayed to God to save his life and upon his safe return, he would build a church of Caldenberch in the Zoniënwoud. Likewise, this was very unlikely for a church to move to a hilltop in Brussels.

The Transformation into a Provostry

An ‘abbey’ is a community of ordained friars run by an ‘abbot’. In the Low Countries, a ‘provost’ can also run a community of ordained monks and both building and people are called a ‘provostry’ (‘proosdij’ in Dutch). It was a provostry that the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg soon became.

In 1121, Duke Godfried I (with the Beard) of Leuven and of Lower Lorraine (?-1139) accepted a charter to the advantage of the Abbey of Affligem, where land would be given “apud Brussele super castellum” – near Brussels at the castle. This phrase was the oldest mention of a castle in Brussels.

Records after this document repeatedly mention a cleric named “Onulfus” – Lord Onulfus de Bruesella, Priest Onulfus and the brothers Onulfus and Balduinus.

Researcher Stéphane Demeter proposes that the priest Onulfus was linked to Lords of Aa (in today’s Anderlecht) who ruled also as Viscounts of Brussels. Brussels was in the 12th century nothing but a small military outpost and a village. I did explain how Aa/Anderlecht are a lot older than Brussels (see Anderlechtsepoort). It would make sense that someone from the local ruling family was appointed as the head of the new provostry beside the castle which they most likely built. On a very strategic hilltop.

Apart from the transformation from a castle chapel into a church with a small community led by a provost, there was most likely an infirmary attached, which accounts for the choice of patron of Saint James. Perhaps for this reason, in 1162, the Sint-Jakob-op-Koudenberg (church and infirmary) were ‘given’ by Duke Godfried III (?-1190) to Gerardus de Scluse, for the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. In any case, it was strange how this actually worked – something which has puzzled historians.

From Valley to Alley: Borgendaal

Before we dive into the appearance of the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg, let’s first look at a toponym closely related to it.

Since the Middle Ages, the street that separated the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg and the Ducal Palace became known as the Borgendaal (Borgendal, Borchdal, Borcdal). Its first record was in 1259. On our 1572 map, you can see it clearly spelled out and there was a well too. It was a street located left of the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg, went round the back and then would have exited further up the Naamsestraat.

Some say that the name pointed to its owner, the Lordship of Boondaal (in today’s Elsene/Ixelles) which were under the Viscounty of Brussels. This makes little sense as the name looks more like a toponym.

The Ducal Palace – previously a castle (see above) – sat on top of the hill of Koudenberg. Immediately north of it is a valley, which is today’s Royal Park also known as the Warande. This used to be the ducal hunting grounds.

The name ‘Borgendaal‘ could very well have referred to the whole valley area with ‘borgen‘ meaning ‘castle’ (burg, borcht) and ‘daal‘ meaning ‘valley’, before it got its new name of Warande.

You can still see the last remnants of the street of Borgendaal today. It is known as the ‘Impasse du Borgendael‘ and is a carpark for the Grand Royal Oath of Saint George of the Crossbowmen of Brussels.

1269: The Extension of the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg

Initially, the church, hospice and provostry of the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg were very much restricted by the limited space they had. The front of the church was on the Naamsestraat. Its northwest facade is on the open square. The rest was surrounded by the Borgendaal.

In 1269, this changed with the authorisation by Duke Jan I of Brabant (1252-1294) to seal the Borgendaal from the whole Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg. In the middle of the Borgendaal was a well, so the monks had to pay a private owner six deniers per year to go through his property to get water! From then on, the church and community continued to expand in the 14th and 15th centuries.

According to Henne et Wauters, the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg had a garden surrounded by walls and planted with trees. Left of this garden was a courtyard where the infirmary was. The provost’s quarters, built in 1467 included a brewery and a kitchen. There was another courtyard which had a small opening onto the Borgendaal. In 1430, the provostry cemetery was surrounded by walls.

The monks’ quarters were adjacent to the church which had a cloister with arched arcades.

The church was small and not of exceptional beauty. It was in the shape of a Latin cross, and was 80 feet long, 63 wide, and 62 high. The face of the church gave onto the square of Coudenberg. The church had a statue of Saint James and was pierced with a few Gothic windows. It also had two small bell towers, one with three bells and the other with two bells. The bells were called ‘schellekens‘. In 1501, the church was paved with stone.

The altar was dedicated to Saint James in the Wild (Sint-Jacob in ‘t wildernisse) and there hang a painting of the Crucifixion by Brussels painter, Hendrick de Clerck (c. 1560–1630). The altar was rebuilt in 1644. In front of it, hung a very heavy silver lamp, laden with inscriptions which had become illegible over time.

In the middle of the choir, stood the tomb of Frank, son of Duchess Mary of Burgundy (1457–1482) and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519) who died in 1481 at the age of four months. Others who were buried here included Emond de Dynter (c. 1370 – 1449), Secretary of various Dukes of Brabant, and Olivier de La Marche (1426-1502), chronicler of the Burgundian Court. There was also a ‘Chapel of Toulouse’ built for the Count Jacques de Marnix of Toulouse who died in 1557. Count Jacques de Marnix was the war commissioner of Habsburg Emperor Charles V.

At the entrance to the choir were the altars of Saint Anne and Saint Nicholas, erected in 1656.

On the altar of the left aisle, there was a crudely made statue, called “het Jesuken op ‘t Coudenberch” (Baby Jesus on Coudenberg). This was most likely a remnant from its early days as a chapel. The statue was a particular favourite of sterile women and those who had difficult childbirth.

On the altar of the right aisle, was the altar of the Holy Cross. Legend has it that a piece of the cross of Christ was given to this church in 1130. A Brotherhood of the Holy Cross was founded in 1583. But in the 16th century, the relic suddenly disappeared, and the brotherhood was disbanded.

In its place was the Brotherhood of Saint Ildefonsus. Founded by Archduke Albert VII of the Habsburg Netherlands (1559–1621) here in Coudenberg in 1596, the brotherhood aimed to encourage loyalty to the Habsburg Empire. After his death, his wife Archduchess Isabella commissioned the ‘Ildefonso Altarpiece‘ triptych by Peter Paul Rubens, dating to between 1630 and 1631. This was an absolutely stunning painting! Today, it can be seen in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Apparently the chapel of Saint Ildefonsus was also decorated with paintings by Breughel representing the Christ’s Passion. It was there that the intestines of the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria and Governor of Habsburg Netherlands (1609–1641) were deposited in a vault.

Next came the equally short-lived Brotherhood of Saint Sebastien, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament, and then the Brotherhood of Saint Rock. Founded in 1638 by the provost Carnin, the altar of the Saint Rock also featured a painting by Peter Paul Rubens known as the ‘Heilige Rochus door Christus aangesteld tot patroon van de pestlijders‘ (Saint Rock assisting plague victims). An exact copy also by Peter Paul Rubens can be seen in the Sint-Martinuskerk in Aalst.

The Great Fire of 1743

During the violent Brussels Republic (1577/1578-1585), the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg suffered extensive looting and destruction. Much like the other churches in Brussels.

Order was only restored when the high altar was reconsecrated on 14 April 1585 after the Calvinists were driven out.

It was in 1622 that Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg finally became a parish church, with all parish rights except for a private cemetery. The nomination of the priest could be made by the provost but submitted to the chapter of Collegiale kerk van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele.

On the night of 3 February 1731, a fire broke out in the kitchens of the Coudenberg Palace and it very quickly spread to the whole palace compound, despite the freezing conditions. Yet, the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg was fully intact. Perhaps the narrow street of Borgendaal played a decisive role in preventing the fire from spreading to the church.

But fate soon caught up with the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg. On 1 June 1743, around seven o’clock in the evening, lightning struck the church and set part of it on fire. The fire was so fierce that the bells melted. The following morning, the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg laid completely in ruins.

1776: The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes

The burnt ruins of Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg laid untouched for 30 years(!), until they were finally removed in 1773.

Just like the new Royal Palace next door, the new neo-classical church was designed and managed by architects Gilles-Barnabé Guimard and Louis Montoyer. Work also started at the same time as the Palace in 1776, when the first foundation stone was laid on 17 January. The rebuilding was continuously stalled due to financial mismanagement, so much that work had been abandoned when it had barely begun.

It only resumed in 1785 and finally consecrated on 29 October 1787. But then, part of its facade fall, so they had to close it again. Then they reopened it in 1788.

The provostry was also rebuilt together with the church. In 1786, the provostry buildings were assigned to the meetings of the Privy Council and the Council of Finance, whose archives were placed in the vast underground passages extending beneath the church. The royal council established by Habsburg Emperor Joseph II was then installed there.

It then became a college in 1816, then in 1832 a military school, which obtained the right to use the whole buildings in 1838.

Today, these buildings are divided up again and some are for commercial purposes.

The new Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg church and attached buildings were built on exactly the same spot of the medieval and Renaissance buildings. Yet none of the former structures has survived. Because of the fire in 1743, nothing could be salvaged from what could be Brussels’ oldest church. Except the Ildefonso Altarpiece now in Vienna.

The current Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg took on an important role in its own right. Located right next to the Royal Palace of Belgium, it was here that the first King Leopold I of Belgium was crowned on 21 July 1831, hailing in a new, young independent state.

Sources:

Vannieuwenhuyze, B. (2011) “Brussel, de Ontwikkeling van een middeleeuwse stedelijke ruimte.” Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Henne, A. Wauters, A. (1845) “Histoire de la ville de Bruxelles. Volume I-III” Brussels: Librairie Encyclopédique de Périchon.
Rombaut, J-A. (1777) “Bruxelles illustrée, ou description chronologique et historique de cette ville.” Brussels: Chez Pauwels.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._James_on_Coudenberg
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath%C3%A9drale_Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg_%C3%A0_Bruxelles
https://paroisse-militaire-saint-jacques-sur-coudenberg.be/nl/home/
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impasse_du_Borgendael
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ildefonso_Altarpiece
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/heilige_Rochus_door_Christus_aangesteld_tot_patroon_van_de_pestlijders

1. van Deventer, J. (1550-1565) “Atlas of the city of the Low Countries : 73 minutes between 1550-1565 on orders of Emperors Charles V and Philip II” KBR (image)
2. de Tailly, M., van der Horst, N., Santvoort, A. D. (1640) “Bruxella nobilissima Brabantiae civitas anno 1640” KBR (image)
3. Rubens, P-P. (1630-1631) “Ildefonso Altarpiece” Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (image)
4. Rubens, P-P. (1623-1626) “Heilige Rochus door Christus aangesteld tot patroon van de pestlijders” Sint-Martinuskerk Aalst. (image)