Saint James’ Church

For ages “St. James” has been the Antwerp starting point for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela and it still is.

The late-Gothic church (about 1506-1656) has an overwhelming baroque interior with 23 altars – a marble celebration – and owns a splendid art collection by artists such as Jordaens, Rubens, Van Balen. It also includes Peter Paul Rubens’s burial chapel. His parish church – Rubens’s house is only about 300m away – still breathes the grandeur of its neighbourhood of wealthy citizens, which it used to be in past times. Now it is in the middle of a student’s quarter. Recently, brilliant 16th century mural paintings have been brought to light.