Hoevenen / Attenhoven / Ettenhoven

INFORMATION

Font ID: 25957HOE

Object Type: Baptismal Font1

Font Date: n.d.

Church / Chapel Name: Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Geboortekerk, Hoevenen / Kerk van Attenhoven te Hoeneven

Font Location in Church: Inside

Church Patron Saint(s): St. Mary the Virgin

Church Notes: Gillis van Attenhoven, who had begun reclaiming the lowlands along the Scheldt River, received tithing rights from the Bishop of Liège in 1248 and permission to establish one or more parish churches on the newly conquered (diked) lands. He established Ettenhoven as an independent parish and lordship, first mentioned in 1297. 1248 is considered the founding date not only of the Ettenhoven parish, but also of the parish church. Historical documents about the church date back only to the 16th century. However, the place of worship acquired its current form between the 13th and 15th centuries. The church suffered greatly during the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648): there was looting, water damage due to the breaching of the dikes, and the church was used as a refuge for the population. In 1680 or 1682, the church was damaged by a breach in the Ettenhoven dike. Floods and storms during the 17th and 18th centuries also caused considerable damage. Since 1972, the church has been decommissioned and deconsecrated due to the construction of a new parish church, closer to the centre of the municipality.

Church Address: Kerkstraat 131, 2940 Stabroek, Belgium

Site Location: Antwerp, Vlaanderen / Flandres, Belgium, Europe

Directions to Site: Located off the N114 [aka Kerkstraat], N of Hwy A12, in the municipality of Stabroek, 11-12 km N of Antwerp

Ecclesiastic Region: Bisdom Antwerpen

Additional Comments: disappeared font? (the one from the medieval church) ***GET PHOTO FROM KIK-IRPA https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/42186 ***

Font Notes: Click to view

A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 18 November 2025) informs on the historical background of the church itself until its decommissioning and deconsecration in 1972, when the new church was built closer to the centre; at that time valuable ecclesiastical objects, such as the baptismal font from 1609, were moved to the new church; that date corresponds to the oldest baptismal records preserved. Was there no earlier font? The font, dated by an inscription to 1609, is listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/42186] [accessed 21 November 2025]: "doopvont [...] Kerk O.L.Vrouw, Hoevenen [...] Date: 1609 - 1609 [...] arduin, messing [...] hoogte: 160 cm" [height includes the cover].

Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Pol Herman for bringing this font to our attention and for his help documenting it

COORDINATES

UTM: 31U 597290 5684409

Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 51.302672, 4.395633

Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 51° 18′ 9.62″ N, 4° 23′ 44.28″ E

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone

Font Shape: hemispheric (mounted)

Basin Interior Shape: round

Basin Exterior Shape: round

INSCRIPTION

Inscription Language: numbers

Inscription Location: on the basin side

Inscription Text: "1609"

Inscription Notes: cf. FontNotes

Inscription Source: BALaT KIK-IRPA

LID INFORMATION

Material: metal, brass

Apparatus: no

Notes: moulded dome with cross finial

REFERENCES