Soignes - Collégiale Saint-Vincent

The building of this massive church dedicated to St Vincent and in the style of Scheldt Romanesque was begun in 965 and completed in the 13th C. Both bays of the choir contain the oldest cross-ribbed vault in Belgium (believed 11th C.). The interior of the church with its two rows of arcades and its gallery is similar to that of the cathedral at Tournai. The most impressive items are undoubtedly the sculpture, the Renaissance choir screen made of marble and stucco, an interment scene in the ambulatory (15th C.), a "Nursing Virgin" (14th C.), and the Baroque choirstalls and pulpit. The great 19th C. shrine of the saint stands in the choir. In the Chapel of St Hubert in the south wall is kept the treasury.