Saint Gummarus Church
Sint-Gummaruskerk

This church is a mish-mash of architecture as it took 200 years to build. A marriage here literally unified Spain.

Saint Gummarus (Sint-Gummaruskerk) is a historic Brabantine Gothic style church. Brabantine means it’s a little bit like regular Gothic, but not! You’re going to see super stylised lymestone here. Basically, it’s pretty. There’s stained glass windows, a 800kg shrine to the patron saint of Lier, and lots to see around too.

• The main thing you’ll hear everyone talking about here is the 800kg silver shrine to Saint Gummarus. He’s also the patron saint of Lier.
• Since it took 200 years to build, the architecture is in different styles. So the bottom part is completely Gothic, in the middle it’s baroque, and the top is rococo. A must-see for architecture enthusiasts!
• Make sure to look down too when you’re inside the church or you’ll only be seeing the bare bones of it. You can see the names of people’s gravestones on the floor.
• Take in the history. In the 1400s, the Queen of Castille actually got married here. Joanna the Mad of Castille married Archduke Philip the Handsome from House of Habsburg which united Spain
• In the little square next to the square, you’ll see a statue of Christus Rex from 1921. It was put up after the war ended. The artist (Jan Matheus Gerrit) has art in St Margaret’s church in Lier too
• The church hosts annual organ concerts in September. Those acoustics are practically holy.
• If you happen to be visiting around the first Sunday after the 10th October, don’t miss St Gummarus’s Fair. They parade the shrine around Lier. It’s a cool sight.