Der Weisse Engel in Quedlinburg – another stucco ceiling by Hansche?
Probably not. Continue reading
Probably not. Continue reading
I’ve been building up to this for months: the definitive guide to the three-dimensional ceilings created by a German artist in the Low Countries. The one destroyed by the Belgians last century, in Leuven at the Priory of the Vale … Continue reading
Address: Voldersstraat 3, 9000 GentCo-ordinates: 51.05213, 3.72418Distance from central Brussels: 54 kmOpen: by special arrangement onlyParking: two car parks within 300mHow to get there by public transport: Tram #1 from Gent Sint Pieters railway station to Gent Korte Meer, 3 … Continue reading
I’ve lived in Belgium since 1999, and near Leuven since 2001, but there are still corners of my adopted country which surprise me. Looming down at us from 350 years ago, a dozen ceilings are all that remains of the … Continue reading
My quest to find all of the surviving stucco ceilings by Jan Christian Hansche has come to an end, I think. Today I visited the last of his surviving work that is on display; but before I get to that, … Continue reading
My quest to find the remaining stucco ceilings of the 17th century artist Jan Christian Hansche is reaching a conclusion. (The story so far: Park Abbey in Leuven; the Chateau de Modave near Namur; the ones that have been destroyed … Continue reading
As my regular reader knows, I have been hunting down the remaining stucco ceilings of the 17th century artist Jan Christian Hansche for the last few months. (The story so far: Park Abbey in Leuven; the Chateau de Modave near … Continue reading
F and I went to Gent last weekend to track down a couple more of the seventeenth century stucco ceilings of Jean-Christian Hansche. One of them is in the library of the law faculty of the University of Gent;Luc De … Continue reading
Well, I’ve been able to change the colours of a couple of dots on my map: I have to start by reporting a dead end, unfortunately. The Inventaris Onroerend Erfgoed had led me to believe that there might be a … Continue reading
I ventured into darkest Wallonia yeteday, to find another example of the ceiling work of 17th century stucco artist Jan Christian Hansche. This was in the church of St Remigius, Saint Rémi locally, in the village of Franc-Waret near Namur. … Continue reading
My little project to see all the remaining work of the 17th-century stucco sculptor Jan-Christian Hansche promises to pose a number of challenges. Very few of the eleven buildings where his magnificent ceilings remain are open to the public on … Continue reading
I have recently become fascinated with the work of the 17th-century sculptor Jan-Christian Hansche (name spelt in various ways in different sources), who I found out about visiting the Park Abbey, near us, and then the Château de Modave out … Continue reading
Today being a public holiday, I successfully persuaded the family to go for a trip to the lower Ardennes, specifically to the château at Modave, the far side of Huy, just where the landscape starts to get interesting. My reason … Continue reading
If you’re within reach of Leuven, and on the look-out for something a bit different to do this weekend, you could do worse than visiting the Abdij van Park, south of the city. We know it well – Anne actually … Continue reading
It seems like only yesterday that I posted about being 20,000 days old. But actually it was a thousand days ago. When I was born on 26 April 1967, Lyndon Johnson was President of the USA; Harold Wilson was Prime … Continue reading
A breezy gazetteer, which assumes that the reader already has knowledge of the Tudor period. Continue reading
Address: Breite Brückstraße 260 (later renumbered to Brückstraße 14) in WeselOpen: Destroyed.Parking: irrelevantHow to get there by public transport: You can’t. It’s been destroyed.How good was it? A single, striking panel, destroyed on Kristallnacht in 1938 This is a late addition to my collection of … Continue reading
Non-fiction 10 (YTD 58)
Non-genre 4 (YTD 18)
SF 17 (YTD 139)
Doctor Who 4 (YTD 25)
Comics 7 (YTD 21) Continue reading
Address: Woluwelaan 100, 1830 Machelen (but acccess via Pieter Schroonstraat)Co-ordinates: 50.90369, 4.42752Open: by special arrangement onlyParking: on Pieter SchroonstraatHow to get there by public transport: 15 mins walk from Buda metro station; 282 bus, which runs between Diegem and Vilvoorde … Continue reading
Address: Diestsesteenweg 10, 3200 AarschotCo-ordinates: 50.98258, 4.85228Distance from central Brussels: 45 kmOpen: By special arrangement onlyParking: Beside the castle, or on the DiestsesteenwegHow to get there by public transport: Buses 35, 390, 392 and 561 will get you there in … Continue reading
Address: Sint Maartensstraat, 3000 Leuven.Open?: Destroyed.Parking: irrelevantHow to get there by public transport: You can’t. It’s been destroyed.How good was it? We don’t know. According to Marc Van Vaeck, Hansche created stucco ceiling panels showing Saint Martin and Saint Augustine … Continue reading
Address: originally Kleiner Markt, then destroyed.Open: Destroyed.Parking: IrrelevantHow to get there by public transport: You can’t. It’s been destroyed. Kleve is best known in English history in the name of Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves (though in fact … Continue reading
Address: Abdij van Park 7, 3001 LeuvenCo-ordinates: 50.86438, 4.71745Distance from central Brussels: 28 kmOpen: 10-5 every day except Monday, open until 9pm on the last Thursday of the monthParking: on siteHow to get there by public transport: Buses 4, 5 … Continue reading
Address: Rue du Parc 4, 4577 ModaveWebsite: https://www.modave-castle.be/Co-ordinates: 50.44118, 5.28785Distance from central Brussels: 90 km as the crow fliesOpen: 10h-18h, 1 April-13 November, except Mondays (but open on Mondays which are in July, August or public holidays in opening season)Parking: … Continue reading
Address: Somewhere in GentCo-ordinates: private.Open: It isn’t.Parking: NoneHow to get there by public transport: I have been asked not to say.How good is it? Amazing. Smaller in scale than Modave or Park Abbey, but that makes it all the more … Continue reading
Address: Horststraat 28, 3220 HolsbeekCo-ordinates: 50.93357, 4.83206Distance from central Brussels: 37 kmOpen: by special arrangement and on (some) heritage days (first Sunday of every month, Apr-Jul 2023); will be more accessible after planned renovationsWebsite: http://www.kasteelvanhorst.be/Parking: car park on castle groundsHow … Continue reading
Address: Hendrik Conscienceplein, 2000 Antwerpen, 200m east of the cathedral.Co-ordinates: 51.22114, 4.40508Distance from central Brussels: 45 kmOpen: The church is open 10-1230 and 2-5, Mon-Sat; but the sacristy, with its Hansche stucco ceiling, is open by special arrangement only.Information in … Continue reading
Address: originally Goudenleeuwplein, Gent; seen in the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Gent in the 1990s; now in storageOpen: No.How good is it? Five impressive panels. Five panels by Hansche survive from the house of the Canfyn family in the … Continue reading
Address: Tervuurseweg between #134 and #136, 1820 Steenokkerzeel – PerkCo-ordinates: 50.93346, 4.49754 Distance from central Brussels: 15 kmOpen: 9.30-10.15 on Sunday mornings. It is polite to attend Mass as well before starting to take photos.Parking: on TervuursesteenwegHow to get there by … Continue reading
Address: originally Fischmarkt in Wesel, then Kornmarkt, then destroyed.Open: Destroyed.Parking: irrelevantHow to get there by public transport: You can’t. It’s been destroyed.How good was it? It looks like it was really impressive. Wesel, on the Rhine north of Duisburg, is … Continue reading