St-Pierre St-Paul church

 

No one can say precisely when this area began to be devoted to religion. However there is a legend according to which there was a statue of the Virgin around 1000 on the current location of the church. Then it is said that some Norman looters tried to break it, but the statue proved so strong that they soon had to give up. That's why a first church was supposedly built there, and was destroyed by Baudouin VIII in 1185.

The church at the beginning of the 20th century. It was lucky enough not to be destroyed in 1918.

A new church was built around 1500, under the rule of the pious Habsburgs : it had a big tower on the front with a little bell, and it seems that it was a pretty nice building. However it was burnt almost entirely during the siege of 1794. So actually the current building was only erected in 1818 : its architectural style is very typical of northern France, entirely in bricks and blue stone.

Inside the church some interesting items can be found, like a vermilion ciborium dating back to Louis XV or a big painting by Gaspar de Crayer, an artist of the 17th century. There is also a little marble memorial dedicated to Henri Clarke, one of the greatest associate of Napoleon, who was born in Landrecies and helped the Landrecians to reconstruct their city (and their church) after 1794.

This ciborium belongs to the great treasury of the church-------------------The Christ On The Cross, by Gaspar de Crayer--------------------Stained-glass window featuring St-Louis