{"id":53477,"date":"2021-08-22T16:10:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-22T14:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/topa.be\/sint-pauluskerk\/beschrijving\/spc-the-tower\/"},"modified":"2021-11-07T12:58:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-07T11:58:55","slug":"toren","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/topa.be\/en\/sint-pauluskerk\/beschrijving\/toren\/","title":{"rendered":"SPK The tower"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Saint Paul\u2019s, the Antwerp Dominican church, a revelation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The tower: a beacon in the seamen\u2019s quarter<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Saint Paul's church, dominating the neighbourhood<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Saint Paul’s – Tower dome<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Originally there used to be a small Gothic bell tower on the crossing of the Gothic church (ca. 1630). Lightning destroyed this fleche in 1679. This was a golden opportunity to raise the tower base that had already been built near the crossing to become a real Baroque tower. For a church of the Dominican mendicant order the 65.5 m (= 215 ft) tall tower remains a surprising and exceptionally impressive construction. For some it is a clear sign of competition with the Baroque tower of Saint Charles Borromeo Church, of that other intellectual order, the Jesuits. It is not clear why the commission for the design was given to Nicolaes Millich, who interrupted his post as court sculptor in Stockholm for a few years to stay in his birthplace, Antwerp.<\/p>\n

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Saint Paul’s – Tower top, engraving from Johann Christoph Sartorius ca 1682, after a design from Nicolaes Millich. \u00a9 Museum Plantijn-Moretus\/Prentenkabinet Antwerpen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

On the quite closed substructure an octagonal superstructure has been put, which starts with a dome eight ribs lead to the balustrade of the small lantern turret. The upward lines of this lantern consist of herm statues with naked male torsos that give the impression of being really functional caryatides. The dome of the upper lantern turret consists mainly of eight volutes that come together at the top. Originally the crowning looked more playful because four dogs with a torch were sitting obediently on the big lantern dome, while one was enthusiastically running around the globe beneath the cross, as an extra wind vane. With this dog Dominic\u2019s attribute was creatively linked to the traditional tower cross! Apparently the triumph of Counter Reformation made the original modesty of the mendicant order turn into pride that would or could not be hidden.<\/p>\n

Behind this grandeur however sadness is hidden: when a scaffolding collapsed two novice lay brothers died.<\/p>\n

A gruesome story that echoed for a long time is this of Hendrik Nuyers, nicknamed \u2018den Blekken\u2019, the leader of Saint Paul\u2019s bell ringers, who already in 1897 had been reprimanded for drunkenness and other lapses. Possibly debts with Mr and Mrs Rolus, the parents of his godchild Henrieke, who lived in Nosestraat, urged him to flee. But first he had killed his four year old godchild by hanging at his house in Potagiepoort.<\/p>\n

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Saint Paul’s – Tower dome anno 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

In 1943 the Nazis requisitioned two chiming bells to keep their war engine going. In 1955 three new bells were consecrated. But the mirth of ringing bells lasted but a while. \u00a0At\u00a0the 1968 fire<\/strong>\u00a0the big\u00a0Pius Bell<\/em>\u00a0(1868) weighing 4.5 tonnes crashed down. The four other bells, including\u00a0Dominicus<\/em>\u00a0(1722) were partly melted by the heat, so that the next day their metal trace could be followed when climbing the stairs.<\/p>\n

At the\u00a0restoration<\/strong>\u00a0(1977-1882) the core of the tower was fortified with reinforced concrete. The 1682 weathercock could be recycled and has proudly taken its place again, high up in the wind. Two new bells,\u00a0Paulus<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Dominicus<\/em>\u00a0were cast by the Louvain workshop Sergeys and were consecrated in the jubiliee 1976. The\u00a0Pius Bell<\/em>\u00a0was restored and three bells (Andreas<\/em>,\u00a0Apollonia<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Augustinus<\/em>) came from Saint Augustine Church, which was secularized in 1968. They all ring together their wake up call\u2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The fa\u00e7ade of Saint Paul's church, Jan Jozef Linnig, 1847 (based on how it looks before 1679)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe patron saint: Saint Paul<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe architecture: gothic and symbolism<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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