Ahead of you is a simple, sturdy stone chapel with round-arched windows and a pointed little tower; look for the rough yellowish bricks and the small arched entrance just opposite the larger St. Gummarus Church.
Standing here, you’re face-to-face with the oldest building in Lier-the St. Peter’s Chapel, a survivor from around the year 1225. Its thick, Romanesque stone walls replaced an even older wooden chapel built by Saint Gummarus himself in the 8th century. Imagine the air heavy with the scent of damp stone and the whisper of footsteps as worshippers entered for centuries. After the mighty St. Gummarus Church was finished, part of this chapel was actually torn down, and during the French occupation, it was stripped bare-talk about a tough life for a church! Fast forward to World War I: fire roared through the place, leaving it in ashes. Luckily, Lemaire rebuilt it in the 1920s, but he had his own design ideas, so only the main hall (not the tower) was protected… until 1994 when the whole thing finally got its monument status. Inside, it’s modest-wooden beams, painted saint medallions, and the empty tomb of Saint Gummarus hiding behind the altar. And don’t miss the painting about the day invading Vikings stormed in, killed the priest, and were struck blind as the church bells tolled all over Lier. Even today, every year on the Thursday before St. Andrew’s, all the city’s bells ring at 7pm as a reminder of those wild medieval days.
