Foret / Forès / Forêt / Forêt-lez-Chaudfontaine / Forêt-Village

Baptismal font listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10121139] [accessed 5 April 2026]: "fonts baptismaux [...] pierre [...] Date: 1601 - 1700 [...] hauteur: 107 cm [...] couvercle en laiton datant du début du XIXème siècle dont la hauteur approximative est de 48 cm."
A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 2 April 2026] informs: "Forêt, église Sainte-Cathérine. 1322 Forès, Forêt-Village, Forêt-lez-Chaudfontaine. The large forested area around Forêt belonged to the Carolingian domain of Jupille. Legend says that a Carolingian castle called Troozberg once stood here. A first chapel is said to date back to the 720s. It was supposedly built by Charlemagne's ancestors (the Pepin family) as a place of worship when they came to hunt in the forest. In 1008, the village was given to the Bishop of Verdun, by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II. In 1266, Verdun ceded it to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Ecclesiastically, Forêt initially belonged to the vast parish of Jupille. In the 11th century, a Romanesque church, reinforced by a massive fortified tower, was built on the site of the chapel. A record from the Jupille High Court dated 1321 indicates that Forêt belonged to the Prince of Liège. The chapel of Saint Catherine in Forêt became a parish church in 1511. The chapter of Our Lady at Aachen obtained the right of patronage. The beautiful church today is of Romanesque origin. The older parts probably date from the 11th century. In the 14th century, the tower was rebuilt. Wall paintings and sculpture on columns date from 1540-1560. The nave was probably built in that time. In 1668, a breach was made in the facade of the closed tower, which serves as the church's portal. A new chancel dates from 1684. On May 10, 1940, Belgian artillerymen dynamited the tower, fearing it could be used as a landmark by the advancing German army. It was rebuilt in 1954. Baptismal records start in 1660. Marble font, 17th c. https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10121139 -- Picture by Les Murs de Pierre"